Cabinet Deadlock Continues to Take its Toll on Political Stability

The new dispute between Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun and President Michel Suleiman on the sixth Maronite minister in the new cabinet began to take its toll on the country’s political stability.

Consultations aimed at forming the government have lately hit the new snag of the sixth Maronite minister, whom Aoun refuses to be from Jbeil or Kesrouan to avoid being marginalized in the 2013 parliamentary elections.

According to pan-Arab daily al-Hayat on Wednesday, the FPM chief also insists on knowing the names of the Maronite and Orthodox ministers who are part of Suleiman’s share.

But the president rejected Aoun’s latest conditions. His visitors quoted him as saying that he wouldn’t mind to bring either Jean Obeid or Naji Bustani to the ministry, as the sixth Maronite minister. But he refuses such a proposal and “hegemony from any side that rejects to hand over the list of its representatives in the cabinet to the prime minister-designate.”

The visitors were referring to Aoun’s rejection to hand PM-designate Najib Miqati the names of the FPM chief’s candidates in the cabinet.

Miqati’s sources told As Safir that he was still waiting for the answer of the involved parties to his request.

According to the Baabda palace visitors, Suleiman has expressed surprise at Aoun’s conditions to prevent certain persons from running in the parliamentary elections.

While agreement has been reached to give Faisal Omar Karami the seat of the former Sunni opposition, the telecommunications, energy, education and culture portfolios continue to remain obstacles, al-Liwaa daily said.