Report: Al-Rahi Backs off from Support for Nonpartisan Cabinet after Berri Warning
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi has backed off from his support for a so-called neutral government over fears that further divisions among the rival parties could affect the presidential elections, pan-Arab daily al-Hayat quoted sources as saying.
The March 8 alliance has been calling for a government in which it would get nine ministers along with March 14 and centrists six.
But the March 14 camp has been sticking to a nonpartisan cabinet.
Reports said lately that the deep divisions pushed Premier-designate Tammam Salam and President Michel Suleiman to agree on a fait accompli neutral government.
Al-Rahi's new stance came after Speaker Nabih Berri warned on several occasions that a neutral cabinet would have negative repercussions on the presidential elections.
The Constituent sets March 25 as the deadline for parliament to start holding sessions to election a new president, which according to the division of power in Lebanon goes to a Maronite.
Suleiman's six-year term ends in May.
Berri has said that a de facto cabinet would worsen differences between the rival parties and complicate the presidential election process by preventing consensus on a new head of state.
“What would such a government do in a month and ten days at the end of a president's term?” Berri asked earlier this week in reference to the expiry of Suleiman's mandate in May.
Such a warning prompted al-Rahi to warn Suleiman to procrastinate on issuing decrees on a fait accompli government over fears on the top post reserved for Maronites, al-Hayat said.
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://naharnet.com/stories/en/112651 |