Phalange: Miqati-Safadi Dispute Sign of Future Conflicts within Government

The Phalange Party said on Tuesday that it was unfortunate that a dispute erupted between Prime Minister Najib Miqati and Finance Minister Mohammed al-Safadi, saying that whoever occupies those two positions should enjoy complete accord.

It said in a statement after its weekly politburo meeting: “The dispute is a sign of a future disputes within the government, which will have catastrophic consequences on Lebanon.”

Safadi slammed Miqati last week for reportedly accusing him of seeking to take commissions in the deal to lease power-generating vessels.

He said that the prime minister should remove him from his post if any investigation proved that he had been seeking a commission.

Despite his scathing attack on Miqati, the finance minister said he still supported the premier in the consolidation of civil peace.

The Phalange Party also urged the government to complete the diplomatic and administrative appointments because the vacancies are crippling the state.

In addition, it called on the government to resolve the dispute over the wage hike.

This issue should not be linked to the 2012 state budget, which has not been approved yet “due to political reasons linked to the government’s lack of productivity,” it noted.

Furthermore, the party warned of the deteriorating security situation in Lebanon due to the spread of various crimes and political assassinations, the most recent of which was the attempt on the life of journalist Mustafa Jeha.

Jeha accused the perpetrators of trying to kill him the same way his father Mustafa Jeha was assassinated on January 15, 1992.

Jeha, a writer and former contributor to al-Amal, a Phalange paper, was killed by unidentified gunmen while driving his car in the east Beirut suburb of Sabtiyeh.

The writer was an outspoken opponent of fundamentalism and had published works critical of the late leader of the 1979 Iranian Revolution Ayatollah Khomeini.