Reports: Odds in Favor of Naming Miqati for Premiership, Again

Consultations over the formation of the cabinet are ongoing as the March 8 and 14 alliances are still mulling the possibility of designating Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati to form the government that will oversee the upcoming parliamentary elections.

Sources said in comments published in Kuwaiti al-Seyassah newspaper on Monday that the March 14 opposition are keen to prevent the March 8 majority alliance led by Hizbullah from claiming the majority by luring Miqati and centrist Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat to its coalition.

According to the daily, the March 8 coalition is discussing the name of the new PM-designate with the balance tilting towards Caretaker Finance Minister Mohammed al-Safadi.

The March 8 is also tackling the names of ex-Minister Bahij Tabbara, former PM Omar Karami or ex-Minister Abdul Rahim Murad.

The Kuwaiti al-Anbaa newspaper reported that Hizbullah is seeking to assign a balanced PM.

Miqati's resignation on March 22 prompted calls for the resumption of the national dialogue.

His resignation further complicated the political crisis in Lebanon after signs began appearing that the Hizbullah-led March 8 forces are seeking a national salvation cabinet while the March 14 opposition alliance wants a neutral government.

Al-Anbaa newspaper reported that the March 14 coalition is waiting for the stance of ex-PM Saad Hariri before naming its candidate.

On Sunday, al-Mustaqbal bloc leader Fouad Saniora returned to Lebanon after talks with Hariri in the Saudi capital Riyadh.

The talks came ahead of the April 5-6 binding consultations between President Michel Suleiman and the parliamentary blocs and independents on the name of the PM-designate.

The alliance has previously ruled out the appointment Miqati to lead such a government.

Hariri, who is also the al-Mustaqbal movement chief, headed a cabinet in 2009, until its collapse in 2011 after March 8 alliance ministers withdrew from his national unity government.

Jumblat's 12-member National Struggle Front parliamentary bloc, along with the March 8 majority led by Hizbullah, brought Miqati to the premiership.