Cabinet to Kick Off Sessions on Monday, Miqati Keen to Rectify Relations with Aoun
The cabinet is back on track as Prime Minister Najib Miqati revealed on Friday that it will convene again, considering it a fresh start to rectify relations with Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun.
Miqati told As Safir newspaper that the cabinet will meet at 9:30 a.m. on Monday at the Baabda Palace.
He said that the cabinet’s agenda will focus on accumulated issues, noting that he will call for another session in the middle of the week.
Asked if the government will tackle the appointment of civil servants in state posts, Miqati said: “There is a breakthrough regarding the matter, and we’re working on it away from any tension.”
“I am against challenge … the priority at this stage should be to maintain stability amid the chaos in the region,” He told As Safir.
According to al-Joumhouria newspaper, the cabinet’s agenda will be packed as it will kick off the session with wrapping up the matters that were on the previous session’s agenda.
Miqati decided to suspend the cabinet’s work after a sharp debate broke out during a session on February 1 at the Baabda Palace between Miqati and the ministers of Aoun’s Change and Reform Parliamentary bloc over the PM’s decision to nominate top civil servants in state posts reserved for Christians without consulting them.
Their dispute worsened after Miqati said ministers who don’t want to abide by the cabinet’s decision should resign. But Aoun slammed the premier, saying he should quit.
Miqati had called continuously on Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas to sign the transportation allowance decree that was approved by the majority of the cabinet, but Nahhas refused slamming it as “illegal.” Thus he decided to resign from the government.
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