Report: Suleiman, Salam Will Take Necessary Stance if Govt. Not Formed in 3 Days
President Michel Suleiman and Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam will take the necessary position if a new government is not formed in the next few days, reported the Kuwaiti daily al-Seyassah on Sunday.
Deputy Prime Minister Samir Moqbel told the daily that the two officials will likely approve the formation of an all-embracing government.
This cabinet will meet the needs of the people and it will tackle pressing issues should a new cabinet not be formed in the next three days, he explained.
The latest efforts to form a new government have yielded an agreement over the formation of a 24-member cabinet which grants eight ministers to each of the March 8 and 14 camps and centrists.
The main obstacle to the formation however is Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun's insistence that his bloc retain the Energy and Telecommunications Ministries portfolios, currently held by caretaker Ministers Jebran Bassil and Nicolas Sehnaoui respectively.
Alternatives to the 8-8-8 government lineup are a de facto cabinet or a neutral one, said Speaker Nabih Berri.
The speaker voiced a readiness to reactivate his efforts to form a government “once he senses that the political factions will exercise leniency in overcoming obstacles,” reported the Kuwaiti daily al-Anba on Sunday.
Berri and Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat are however pressing for the formation of an all-embracing government.
They also pledged to address obstacles presented by Hizbullah and the FPM, revealed al-Anba.
Salam is likely to take a final position on the cabinet formation on Monday or Tuesday at most, it added.
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