Miqati Vows to Set Things Straight if Impasse Continues

Premier-designate Najib Miqati warned on Friday that he would take the appropriate decision to set things straight in the formation of the new government.

“I want the formation of the cabinet today more than any other day because it is an additional factor of stability,” Miqati told al-Iktissad Wal Aamal conference at the Phoenicia hotel in Beirut.

“I will take the appropriate decision to set things straight regardless of whether it would be a cabinet that would (work) for stability or a government that wouldn’t achieve the expected results,” he said.

Miqati told the conference that his role was based on satisfying all sides and forming a government in consultation with the president. However, “it is impossible to satisfy all people and no matter what we do, a certain faction will feel marginalized.”

In response to a question, the prime minister-designate vowed to prevent Sunni-Shiite strife, to consolidate the economy and political stability.

Miqati said the Lebanese are capable of overcoming all political and social difficulties through their unity. “This will be possible only through the close cooperation between the public and private sectors.”

It is time for the state to transform itself from “serving politicians into serving the citizen” and becoming an incentive for productivity, he added.