Salam met Shiite Duo over the weekend. What did they discuss?
The past two days witnessed the first direct communication between Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam and Hezbollah, after such contacts used to be conducted through Speaker Nabih Berri, al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Monday.
“Two meetings were held Saturday and Sunday between Salam, the head of the Loyalty to Resistance bloc Mohammad Raad, Hezbollah secretary-general’s political aide Hajj Hussein al-Khalil, and MP Ali Hassan Khalil,” who is Berri’s political assistant, the daily said.
Informed sources described the two meetings as “positive,” during which Salam “delivered a lengthy statement about the political system that started with the 1943 formula all the way to the Taif Agreement to which he stressed adherence. He also talked about the ‘lost chances’ and about the ‘current chance for salvation,’ while also emphasizing that he is keen not to exclude any political component or party.”
The sources added that Hezbollah and the Amal Movement “have put behind them the problem that accompanied the designation (of Salam) in the (binding) parliamentary consultations, stressing their readiness for cooperation.”
Salam for his part asserted that he was “not a provocation candidate against anyone” and that lawmakers were behind his designation, the sources told al-Akhbar. He also said that he “acknowledges the Duo’s Shiite representation and the impossibility to bypass it.”
“The issue of granting the finance ministerial portfolios to Shiites has becomes behind us and the discussion is not revolving around shares, because the issue of Shiite representation has been settled,” the sources added.
“The discussion is revolving around governance management in the coming period, the means to address the key issues, and the government’s vision for that,” the sources went on to say.
“The other part of discussions is related to the ministerial statement and the format that is supposed to be endorsed regarding the resistance’s role in a manner that would be in line with what was mentioned in the Taif Agreement, especially that governments since ex-PM Tammam Salam formed his government in 2014 have used a unified phrase about the right of the Lebanese to resist in order to liberate the occupied land,” the sources said.
“There are also talks about the implementation of Resolution 1701, in terms of the government’s commitment to its enforcement south of the Litani River, and the need for a clear commitment that any discussions over weapons outside this region would be referred to national-level consultations led by the president of the republic,” the sources added.
In addition to the finance portfolio, Hezbollah and the Amal Movement meanwhile demanded a services-related ministerial portfolio, such as public works or health, but the PM-designate “does not have an initial vision for the cabinet line-up until now and he is yet to begin discussions with the rest of the parties, during which obstacles might arise,” the sources said.
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