March 8, Syria Say ‘No Alternative’ to Miqati

The March 8 forces and Syria continue to hold onto Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati despite an announcement by Tawhid movement leader Wiam Wahhab that he was mulling legal ways to end the nomination of the billionaire businessman, high-ranking sources said.

The sources from the new parliamentary majority told An Nahar daily in remarks published Tuesday that the March 8 forces continue to back Miqati although the cabinet formation process shook ties between several members of the coalition.

They denied that Wahhab’s announcement reflected the plans of the March 8 forces. The Tawhid movement chief said after talks with Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun in Rabiyeh on Monday that they were mulling legal means to withdraw their support for Miqati.

“There is no alternative to Miqati,” a March 8 official told al-Liwaa newspaper. “Even if the crisis drags on, no one from the (new parliamentary) majority would ask him to leave.”

An Nahar’s sources expected Aoun to make an announcement on the issue after the meeting of his Change and Reform bloc on Tuesday.

According to a high-ranking Syrian official, Damascus is comfortable with Miqati’s performance and rumors about Syrian annoyance were not true.

The official told al-Liwaa that the Syrian leadership is aware of Miqati’s burden but it encourages the formation of the government and does not interfere in its details.