A wave of discontent expressed by the March 8 forces with internal disputes over government quotas pushed communication forward and resulted in the birth of the new Lebanese government on Tuesday evening.
Figures close to the March 8 camp strongly criticized, for the first time, disagreements over ministerial portfolios and the constant disregard of the people’s suffering in the wake of the unprecedented economic and financial crisis.
Despite efforts by Speaker Nabih Berri and the Hezbollah party to reach an internal agreement among the March 8 forces over a government lineup, new obstacles had emerged in recent days, with Marada Movement leader Suleiman Franjieh accusing Free Patriotic Movement chief and former Minister Gebran Bassil of hampering the formation process and seeking to obtain veto power in the cabinet.
Well-informed sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that several parties were disgruntled with the situation. This included Hezbollah, which announced that it was halting its initiative to facilitate the birth of the government on Tuesday afternoon.
But contrary to expectations, the wave of negativity revived communication lines and sped the formation of the government, which was finally announced late Tuesday.
The sources said that many parties stressed that it was illogical to disagree over veto power in a “one-sided government”, explaining that Prime Minister Hassan Diab’s cabinet needed the support of all parliamentary blocs in order to be given confidence.
“If one parliamentary bloc abstains from giving its confidence, then the government will fail to obtain confidence in parliament,” the sources remarked, adding: “That’s why disputes over the veto power are baseless.”
