'What a shame!': Slim storms out of meeting with Mikati

Caretaker Defense Minister Maurice Slim has stormed out of a meeting with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati in connection with a dispute over the looming vacuum in the army commander post.

“What a shame!” Slim was quoted as saying as he left the meeting.

“Prior to a broad consultative ministerial meeting, Defense Minister Maurice Slim arrived infuriated and held a closed-door meeting with PM Najib Mikati during which an altercation erupted between them,” Annahar newspaper quoted ministerial sources as saying.

“The ministers learned of the matter because of the shouting between the two men,” the sources added.

“Slim came to object against a letter addressed to him by the premier, in which the defense minister was asked to suggest a candidate for the army chief post or extend the army chief’s term or fill the vacant posts in the military council, in line with the constitution and the Higher Defense Council’s bylaws,” the sources said.

The minister considered the letter to be an infringement on his powers, engaging in a legal debate with the prime minister, the sources added.

“Free Patriotic Movement ministers Henri Khoury, Hector Hajjar and Abdallah Bou Habib took part in the session until its end, as the defense minister walked out with an angry face, after which the discussions over jurisdiction was continued and the justice minister was tasked with addressing the issue,” the sources said.

Slim meanwhile issue a statement saying Mikati’s letter contained “an unusual manner of communication between the premier and ministers.”

He also revealed that the letter mentions that a copy of it was sent to the justice minister “in his capacity as acting defense minister,” which is “something unusual, suspicious and unconstitutional, seeing as the defense minister is practicing his ministerial responsibilities and is not outside the country.”

“A copy was also sent to the Army Command, knowing that it is not concerned with submitting the aforementioned suggestions to the Council of Ministers,” Slim added.