Discussions on the Lebanese government formation were back to square one on Tuesday after PM-designate Saad Hariri faced a new obstacle following attempts to increase the ministerial share of President Michel Aoun.
The new demand was fiercely rejected by Hariri, whose close aides said conditions placed by Free Patriotic Movement leader FM Jebran Bassil not to grant the Lebanese Forces more than three portfolios, and the request for adding the president’s share aimed to pressure the PM-designate to offer one-sided concessions.
Other sources said observers would think that the tension is directly linked to cabinet formation, however in reality it is a prelude to the next presidential race.
While acknowledging that the government would not see the light in the coming days and even weeks, and pending the return of Speaker Nabih Berri from his private visit abroad, Hariri kicked off a new round of talks with his allies, mainly LF leader Samir Geagea, who visited the Center House in Beirut on Monday night.
Sources close to Hariri said the obstacle to the government formation lies in the level of the LF representation. “Bassil insists on rejecting most solutions offered in this regard,” they said.
LF sources denied in remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat that cabinet formation efforts are back to square one.
Concessions should not be offered by one party, but by all political sides, they said.
However, an FPM lawmaker said accusations that his party is trying to exclude the LF or the Progressive Socialist Party are “nothing but an attempt to throw the ball of responsibility in the other team’s court.”
The MP told Asharq Al-Awsat that Aoun and Bassil are eager to guarantee the representation of all parties in the next government, but each according to its size. “We will not offer gifts” to anyone, the source said.
However, observers believe that the main reason for the stalemate lies in the next presidential elections.
Informed sources said that “Bassil is trying to weaken all other Christian parties, particularly the Lebanese Forces, to prove he is the strongest in his sect,” the sources added.
Such a move would guarantee that the presidential post is kept by the FPM, which has been founded by Aoun.
