Berri: National Interests More Important than Norms
Speaker Nabih Berri stated on Wednesday that violating norms for the sake of national interests is more important than actually respecting these norms.
He said this in reference to granting Sunnis seven ministers in cabinet while Shiites were granted five when in the past each sect was represented by six members.
He said before his visitors and MPs from his bloc that after the new government is granted confidence, it would be tasked with confronting various challenges to address the citizens’ daily concerns.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Speaker had ruled out possible bickering among the March 8 forces over the draft policy statement of Premier Najib Miqati’s new cabinet.
“I don’t think there will be any problem,” Berri told An Nahar newspaper in remarks published on Wednesday.
“The country needs work and salvation. This is more important than any other thing,” he said.
“The drafting of the policy statement should not take a long time but I don’t want to set a date for its release,” Berri added.
The speaker told both An Nahar and As Safir dailies on Tuesday that he decided to give up a Shiite minister from his share in the new cabinet without consulting any of his allies despite media reports contradicting his remarks.
“I got the idea on my way to the presidential palace. Eventually I lost a minister but won Lebanon,” he said.
Berri’s move allowed the Sunni sect to get seven ministers instead of six. Faisal Karami who was strongly backed by March 8 became the seventh minister.
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