Report: March 8 Demanding Veto Power in New Government
Differences between Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam's vision of a new government and that of the March 8 camp are beginning to emerge, reported the daily An Nahar Sunday.
A prominent Hizbullah official had reportedly informed Salam's camp that the March 8 alliance “will not back down from its demand for veto power or a blocking third in a new cabinet.”
Salam's circles meanwhile reiterated the premier-designate's stance that centrist figures will comprise the bulk of the new government.
“Such a formation will guarantee its productivity and achieve its main purpose of staging the parliamentary elections,” they stressed.
Al-Manar television, which is loyal to Hizbullah, had reported on Saturday that the March 8 camp had rejected a proposal by Salam to form a cabinet comprised of ten centrist ministers, seven from the March 8 camp, and seven from the rival March 14 alliance.
In addition, it revealed that the March 8 camp that is led by Hizbullah also rejects the proposal of the rotation of government portfolios among the ministers.
Circles monitoring the government formation efforts told An Nahar that the March 8 camp may in upcoming days inform Salam of its united position on the new cabinet that includes its detailed proposals over it and the suggestions that it will reject.
The distribution of power in the new government was at the heart of discussions held between Salam and Speaker Nabih Berri's aide caretaker Health Minister Ali Hassan Khalil on Friday.
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