Aoun: Nothing Indicates Cabinet will be Formed Soon, We're Not Concerned with Parliament Sessions

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun on Tuesday ruled out an imminent formation of a new cabinet as he slammed the performance of the parliament.

“Nothing indicates that the cabinet will be formed soon and everyone is saying it may be formed in September or when the (parliament's) 17-month extension period ends,” Aoun told reporters after the weekly meeting of the Change and Reform bloc in Rabiyeh.

“We will remain without a cabinet and I don't know how will expenditure be distributed by the executive authority. It is confusing that they have created vacuum in state institutions and extended parliament's term because we are sailing in turbulent waters,” Aoun added.

Commenting on his rejection of extending Army chief General Jean Qahwaji's term and accusations that he is seeking the appointment of his son-in-law, Brig. Gen. Chamel Roukoz, as the new army commander, Aoun said: “From the very beginning, our stance which stems from our principles has been against extending the terms of public servants.”

“The same as we rejected extending (former Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf) Rifi's term, we will not accept another extension because it is against the law. The other parties are only reaching consensus on the violation of the constitution and the laws,” Aoun added, referring to both his allies in the March 8 camp and his March 14 rivals.

“I don't know the nature of the deal that will take place, but in Lebanon everyone is a winner except the law and the constitution,” Aoun lamented.

He noted that the other parties “tried to give the issue of extension a personal aspect.”

“But there is a public interest that we are defending and those claiming that there is contradiction in our political conduct must prove their claims,” Aoun added.

He said neither the U.S. nor Iran nor Saudi Arabia are the reason behind the performance of the political class in Lebanon, adding that he does not “share the same ideology with this political class.”

“The state has turned into mini-states and whoever is capable of usurping this land is doing so,” Aoun warned.

Turning to the issue of the parliamentary legislative session that was postponed to mid-July, Aoun said: “We're not concerned with the parliamentary session. The gas draft law would spare Lebanon $1.7 billion in expenses yearly, so why don't we approve it? It is a lie that the car would go up in flames or else Paris, Tehran and Berlin would have burned.”

“Why don't we save 50% or 60% by using gas while having less pollution? Because the gasoline companies receive a percentage of the revenues and they are currently achieving more profits,” Aoun explained.

Asked about the constitutionality of parliament's session amid the presence of a caretaker cabinet, Aoun said: “There is a Constitutional Council that can say if the session is constitutional or not and let them resort to the state institutions.”

On his meeting with Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Awadh Asiri earlier on Tuesday, Aoun said: “There are 350,000 Lebanese expats in Saudi Arabia and 350,000 others in Gulf countries and during the meeting with the Saudi ambassador we eliminated any ambiguity concerning their situations.”