Committee Tasked with Devising Govt. Policy Statement to Meet Wednesday
A seven-minister committee tasked with devising a new government is expected to convene on Wednesday afternoon.
The announcement was made shortly after the newly-formed cabinet held its first meeting at the Baabda Palace.
The committee is composed of State Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Mohammed Fneish, Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil, Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil, Telecommunications Minister Butros Harb, Health Minister Wael Abou Faour, Labor Minister Sejaan Qazzi, and Interior Minister Nuhad al-Mashnouq.
It will meet at the Grand Serail.
President Michel Suleiman and Prime Minister Tammam Salam meanwhile hoped that the policy statement would be drafted quickly so that the cabinet receives parliament's vote of confidence within a week, reported LBCI television.
Suleiman stressed during the session the need to provide the necessary constitutional conditions to hold the presidential and parliamentary elections.
Salam described the formation of the government as a "miracle", saying that it will focus its attention on maintaining security.
Commenting on Tuesday's cabinet session, Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi said: “If the atmosphere remains positive in the coming four months, then the country's crisis will end.”
He added: “No vetoes over any issue in the statement have been voiced and the atmosphere at cabinet was positive and reassuring over the future.”
For his part, Bassil described the session as "filled with love."
The March 14 camp's insistence on including the Baabda Declaration in the statement and the March 8 camp's insistence to include the “army-people-resistance” formula are expected to be the main points of contention at the discussions.
As Safir newspaper reported on Tuesday that Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat launched an initiative to help the rival parties overcome their differences on the policy statement.
Jumblat, who is a centrist, is planning to advise both the March 8 and March 14 alliances to avoid wordings that include the “defense strategy,” the “people-army-resistance” formula or the “Baabda Declaration,” the newspaper said.
The PSP chief wants to limit the policy statement to the new government's short mission to prepare for the presidential elections given that Suleiman's term ends in May and that all parties agree to avoid a vacuum in the top post.
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