Speaker Nabih Berri reiterated his assertion that a president should be elected before holding the parliamentary polls, reported al-Joumhouria newspaper on Monday.

“We cannot appoint a new prime minister before the election of a president,” he added in response to head of the Mustaqbal Movement MP Saad Hariri's declaration that a speaker of parliament cannot be elected before a president.

Negotiations between AMAL and al-Mustaqbal movements over the country's financial crisis failed to reach a breakthrough as the two parties insisted on their stance despite a mediation led by the Progressive Socialist Party.

Speaker Nabih Berri defended on Saturday his adviser, Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil, stressing that he insists on the endorsement of a spending decree at the parliament to pay the salaries of public employees.

Speaker Nabih Berri expressed regret on Friday over the ongoing political crises, stressing that lawmakers are expected to assume their responsibilities if they expect to be paid their salaries.

“The don't want the parliament to convene, they don't want to elect a new president nor endorse draft-laws... Does the parliament only exist for MPs to be paid salaries?” Berri wondered in comments published in several local newspapers.

The March 14 alliance discussed the latest local developments in a meeting at the Center House to take a unified stance over the crises gripping the country's political life.

According to al-Mustaqbal newspaper published on Wednesday, the meeting which was held on Tuesday evening tackled in particular the possibility of attending a parliamentary session that includes on its agenda only urgent draft-laws.

Speaker Nabih Berri lamented the failure of the Lebanese factions to elect a new president, warning that Lebanon will be faced with regional dangers if the powers continue to manage the country in the current manner, reported An Nahar daily on Wednesday.

He told the daily: “Unfortunately, we have not yet reached the age of political maturity.”

Speaker Nabih Berri considered on Monday that the mechanism that the cabinet adopted to regulate its work amid the presidential vacuum is paralyzing it and prompting each minister to be in control.

“We reject attempts to paralyze the cabinet... But unfortunately the followed mechanism doesn't interpret the constitution and the jurisdictions of the government amid the presidential vacuum,” Berri pointed out.

A delegation from al-Mustaqbal movement headed to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia for consultations with head of the movement former premier Saad Hariri.

The delegation will discuss with Hariri the latest developments and the stance from a possible cabinet session on Thursday, An Nahar newspaper reported on Monday.

Health Minister Wael Abou Faour stressed on Sunday the presidential poll is the “hostage” of personal and political disputes, hailing efforts exerted by Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat to narrow the differences between the political arch-foes through dialogue.

“Jumblat is seeking consensus (among the rivals), as holding onto the same presidential candidate will only inflict further division and the presidential vacancy is doomed to go on,” Abou Faour, who is the aide of the PSP chief, said.

Speaker Nabih Berri stated on Saturday that the resistance is the only response to Israeli atrocities, noting that the “national Palestinian unity will remain the strongest and the lasting weapon” in the face of violence.

"The only response to the massacre and to the violence is the resistance which is the people's sole weapon to deter atrocities,” Berri said on the eve of the July 2006 war with Israel.

Speaker Nabih Berri has expressed concern over the differences between cabinet members who have again failed to resolve the dispute on the appointment of deans at the Lebanese University.

While the ministers reached an agreement on Thursday on the full-time employment of LU contract workers, the education decree was not approved over differences between the Kataeb Party and the Progressive Socialist Party on the appointments.