Health Minister Wael Abou Faour has denied that the Progressive Socialist Party was not comfortable with the rapprochement between Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun and al-Mustaqbal movement chief ex-PM Saad Hariri.

“We don't have any problem with the rapprochement between Aoun and Hariri. This issue is absolutely not linked to us,” the minister told As Safir newspaper published on Wednesday.

Speaker Nabih Berri has issued a stern warning against the MPs who are boycotting parliamentary sessions, saying he would take measures against them for “only choosing from the menu the food they like.”

In remarks to As Safir newspaper published on Wednesday, Berri said: “Things would get straight if those who are boycotting the (sessions) implement the Constitution and laws.”

Speaker Nabih Berri, who returned from his private visit to Italy, is expected on Tuesday to revive the consultations on two parliamentary sessions aimed at electing a president and approving the public sector wage scale.

An Nahar newspaper said that the sessions are to be reminiscent of their predecessors.

Education Minister Elias Bou Saab announced on Monday that official exams would be postponed for five days pending a solution with the public sector employees and teachers who have threatened to boycott the exams over the failure of the parliament to approve a controversial pay hike.

During a press conference he held at his office following talks with representatives from the Syndicate Coordination Committee, Bou Saab said the Brevet exams that were scheduled to be held next Saturday will be postponed to June 12.

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun asserted that he is the sole strong presidential candidate that should be voted as head of state, reported al-Joumhouria newspaper on Saturday.

He also added that only “foreign powers” are impeding his election, which al-Joumhouria said he was hinting at Saudi Arabia.

Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil on Thursday stressed the need to “take the necessary measures” to address the Syrian refugee crisis in Lebanon and prevent the “collapse” of the country, noting that “Lebanon cannot await the political solution in Syria.”

“We explained the Lebanese strategy in combating international terrorism, especially in light of the Syrian spillover,” Bassil said after talks in Beirut with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea accused on Wednesday the March 8 camp of obstructing quorum during the presidential polls, urging Speaker Nabih Berri to exert the sufficient pressure to persuade all lawmakers to attend elections sessions.

He said during a press conference at his Maarab residence: “We seek a president who won't conspire against the constitution.”

Speaker Nabih Berri has warned that the boycott of parliamentary sessions would paralyze the power that the legislature exercises to monitor the government's activities.

In remarks carried by several local dailies published on Wednesday, Berri said: “The boycott of the parliament leads to dangerous consequences and paralyzes the monitoring power that it exercises, turning the cabinet into a caretaker” authority.

Speaker Nabih Berri is mulling to call for a national dialogue session to find ways to resolve the political crisis resulting from the vacuum at Baabda Palace, parliamentary sources said.

The sources told pan-Arab daily al-Hayat published on Tuesday that “the complicated political situation that is accompanying the presidential vacuum, led Speaker Nabih Berri to study the possibility to invite for a national dialogue.”

The Change and Reform bloc announced after its weekly meeting on Monday afternoon that all legislation amid the presidential vacuum is “illegitimate.”

“Except when it's concerned with reforming the political system, such as voting on an electoral law,” a released statement read by former Labor Minister Salim Jreissati said after the meeting.