Aoun Blames Cabinet Delay on Salam's 'Violation of Constitution, Failure to Consult with Parliamentary Blocs'
Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun on Tuesday lashed out at Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam, accusing him of “violating the constitution and the parliamentary tradition” and seeking to form a cabinet without consulting with the parliamentary blocs.
“It seems that the PM-designate is seeking to stir a clash with us, as if he has the right to form the cabinet without consulting with the parliamentary blocs. Let him form it with al-Nusra Front if he wants,” Aoun said after the weekly meeting of the Change and Reform bloc in Rabieh.
“This is unacceptable and we don't want to hear such things. We've been hearing about the rotation of portfolios ... and it is well-known that in the wake of the (previous) cabinet's resignation, the appetite of some parties for petroleum was teased and I don't want to address the issue in a personal manner because it is not only about the minister's success," added Aoun, referring to caretaker Energy and Water Minister Jebran Bassil, who is his son-in-law and a top FPM official.
Aoun noted that “if someone wanted to act in an upright and impartial manner, he would not have sought a rotation of portfolios in a cabinet that has only a 5-month term.”
“There are bad intentions and according to the constitution, the jurisdiction to form a new cabinet is not only limited to the PM-designate, because the cabinet represents the MPs and not him in person and we must choose our representatives,” he pointed out.
Aoun stressed that the norms must be respected, noting that the cabinet has not yet been formed “due to the conditions of the PM-designate, who is violating the constitution and the parliamentary tradition.”
The FPM leader underlined that the cabinet must reflect “both the outcome of parliamentary consultations and the will of the PM-designate and the president.”
“Negotiations are the only means to form a new cabinet or else you can 'dream' about having a new cabinet,” added Aoun.
Source: Naharnet
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