Aoun, Berri and Salam meet in Baabda, fail to agree on '5th Shiite minister'
President Joseph Aoun, Speaker Nabih Berri and PM-designate Nawaf Salam met Thursday in Baabda for around two hours without managing to resolve "a dispute over the fifth Shiite minister" in the new government, media reports said.
TV networks had expected the government to be formed due to Berri's presence at the palace and the summoning of Council of Ministers Secretary-General Mahmoud Makiyyeh, who was supposed to recite the cabinet formation decrees.
Aoun and Salam have been seeking to name the "fifth Shiite minister" in agreement with Berri and Hezbollah. MTV said the Speaker did not agree to the candidate proposed by the president and the PM-designate on Thursday.
According to MTV, Berri proposed during the meeting the name of Audit Bureau judge Abdel Reda Nasser, but Salam insisted on Lamia Moubayed.
“President Aoun tried to convince any of them to change his mind, but they insisted on their viewpoints, which torpedoed the government’s formation,” MTV added.
Diplomatic sources meanwhile told the TV network that “the dispute occurred as a result of trying to exclude Hezbollah from the government in a veiled manner.”
Al-Jadeed for its part said that "when Salam insisted on Lamia Moubayed for the fifth Shiite seat, Berri responded by saying 'make it Moubayed's government' before leaving from the palace's backdoor."
Shiite Duo sources also told Al-Jadeed that "the dispute might not be only about the fifth Shiite seat."
"Salam is insisting on naming the fifth Shiite minister and the discussions are revolving around two names: Lamia Moubayed and Abdallah Nasser," the al-Modon news portal reported earlier in the day.
Salam had met earlier in the day with Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Daryan.
“The visit was an occasion to discuss national affairs and inquire about his health, during which I briefed him on the government formation course and the results that have been reached,” Salam said.
“I stressed to him that I’m exerting utmost effort to speed up formation and I also listened to His Eminence’s national vision and wisdom, which are a compass to us,” Salam added.
Salam had met with Aoun on Wednesday evening to discuss the outcome of his negotiations with the political parties, amid reports that progress was reached after the issue of the Lebanese Forces' share was resolved.
Source: Naharnet
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