Salam 'Cautiously Optimistic' after Hariri's Upbeat Note on Cabinet
Officials close to Premier-designate Tammam Salam expressed a cautious optimism on the government formation process and said ex-Premier Saad Hariri proved his good intentions when he announced he was ready to share power with Hizbullah.
Salam is “cautiously optimistic” over the latest developments after nine months of stalemate on the cabinet formation, the officials told al-Mustaqbal daily published on Sunday.
There was some progress in the past two days, mainly after Hariri announced on Friday that he did not want to keep anyone outside the cabinet, the officials said.
But Hariri, who spoke after the Special Tribunal for Lebanon trial in his father's assassination started, denied making concessions over sharing power with Hizbullah in the government.
The officials, who were not identified, told al-Mustaqbal that Hariri's upbeat note left a huge impact on the Lebanese.
“Some people were expecting the start of the trial in The Hague to have a negative impact on the cabinet but ex-PM Hariri avoided the spirit of vengeance to prove once again his good intentions that go along with the logic of state building,” they said.
“The new stance gave a push to the consultations on the cabinet,” they said.
The officials told the daily that Salam was holding onto his position to discuss the policy statement after the formation of the government.
The policy statement is a source of contention between the March 8 and 14 camps.
March 14 has been insisting on making the Baabda Declaration as the basis of the statement.
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