Report: Salam to Resign if Main Political Bloc Quits New Govt.

Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam stated that a government that lacks a “main component of the country” will lose its legitimacy, reported the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat Monday.

Sources monitoring the government formation process told the daily that Salam will resign if a main bloc, such as the March 8 camp, quits the cabinet.

They added that the camp should therefore adopt a more positive and flexible approach towards the premier-designate given that “he will not the violate the rules that he has set for himself regarding the formation of the cabinet.”

Salam had proposed to the March 8 camp the formation of a cabinet in which the camp has seven ministers, the March 14 alliance eight, and centrists nine.

Sources told al-Hayat that the role of the centrist bloc “should not be questioned” seeing as it will act a positive power in the government that will enforce its decisions.

The March 8 camp rejected this proposal, prompting Salam to suggest a government formula where each bloc enjoys eight ministers.

The camp again rejected this suggestion, demanding that it be granted veto power in cabinet seeing as it “enjoys 45 percent of lawmakers in parliament.”

Salam has been adamant in his rejection of allowing any bloc to receive veto power in the new government, saying that such a cabinet cannot be productive.

In November 2006, Hizbullah and AMAL's six ministers resigned from government ahead of a scheduled session during which it was set to approve the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

The months following their resignation were marked by March 8 camp protests demanding the resignation of the cabinet of then-Prime Minister Fouad Saniora.

They deemed the government as illegitimate following the resignation of a main component of the country, but Saniora however refused to resign.

They also demanded that they be granted veto power in a new government.