Phalange Party Is the New Cabinet's 'Biggest Winner'
The Phalange Party is considered the biggest winner in new cabinet announced on Saturday, taking into consideration the modest number of representatives it has at the Lebanese parliament.
With only five deputies at the parliament, the party was able to secure three ministries in Prime Minister Tammam Salam's cabinet. Meanwhile, al-Mustaqbal bloc, which has 37 deputies, got four ministries, similarly to the 27-member Change and Reform bloc.
The Phalange Party thus got three of eight ministries allocated to the March 14 camp in the new cabinet.
This “victory” was only made possible after their March 14 ally, the predominantly Christian Lebanese Forces party, announced that it will boycott the new council of ministers for rejecting to take part in a cabinet with Hizbullah ministers.
The three Phalange-linked figures that were named ministers on Saturday are new Information Minister Ramzi Greij, Alain Hakim for the Ministry of Economy and adviser to the party's leader Amin Gemayel, Sejaan Qazzi, for the Labor Ministry.
The Phalange Party is considered one of the main constituents of the March 14 coalition but has repeatedly adopted stances that were not in harmony with the camp's general mood.
These events include holding talks with Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Ghazanfar Rokn Abadi and Qazzi's visit to the southern suburbs of Beirut after the recent bombings.
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