Miqati Meets Suleiman, Says Blocs Have a Lot of Demands as De Facto Cabinet Looms in Horizon
Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati held talks with President Michel Suleiman on Wednesday on the ongoing efforts to form a new government, reported Voice of Lebanon Radio.
The meeting focused on maintaining contacts to ease various sides’ demands in the government formation, while a final structure for the Cabinet is expected soon.
Earlier on Wednesday, the premier-designate confirmed that consultations are underway to form the new cabinet warning that all Lebanese would suffer if understanding was not reached among themselves.
Miqati made the comment to a visiting delegation from Arab and international news agencies.
The situation in the region and local developments require us to speed up the formation of the government “but at the same time we are making all contacts to (form) a harmonious cabinet,” he said.
“The blocs and parties that nominated me have a lot of demands. We are trying to solve them in cooperation with President Michel Suleiman … in accordance with the constitution,” he added.
As Safir daily had said that Miqati had expressed pessimism on the success of his efforts to form the new cabinet, hinting that he would resort to the announcement of a de facto government because “time was short.”
According to the newspaper, Miqati told his visitors that he would propose a lineup based on the political consensus that took place in the past few months apart from the dispute between President Michel Suleiman and Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun over the interior ministry portfolio.
He also said that he hasn’t asked for suggestions of names of officials, either neutral or military, to be granted the portfolio. Miqati described Caretaker Interior Minister Ziad Baroud’s stance as “daring” but said this doesn’t mean that the ministry would be given to a personality not close to Suleiman because it should remain neutral.
Baroud has said that he did not want to shoulder any ministerial responsibility, in the hope that this would facilitate the cabinet’s formation.
Miqati’s pessimism came after a new round of consultations aimed at solving the deadlock was launched as a last resort, the prime minister-designate’s circles told As Safir and An Nahar newspapers.
He is hoping that his initiative would be faced by positive reactions “otherwise we would be confronting a dilemma that would be difficult to overcome,” they said.
The initiative falls in the interest of the unity of the country and the Lebanese, the circles said, adding it is significant for involved leaderships not to feel marginalized by the other parties.
Miqati’s circles reiterated that the obstacles facing the formation of the cabinet were purely local.
Such a fact forces all sides “to make concessions and cooperate in the management of the coalition or differences on the basis of coordination in shouldering responsibility,” they said.
But March 8 sources told As Safir that consultations have reached a dead end and involved parties are no longer working on a roadmap. Attempts to bridge differences between Suleiman and Aoun failed over the two men’s fears that they would reject any name proposed by the other to head the interior ministry.
Violent rhetoric was also another factor in the failure to reach an accord, the sources said.
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