Efforts are underway to contain a new crisis that erupted between two ministers in the Lebanese caretaker government – Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil and Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil – over the issuance of a decree, appointing 32 honorary consuls, without bearing the signature of the finance minister.
The decree was signed by President Michel Aoun, Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri and Bassil, while Hassan Khalil insists that any decree entailing financial burdens must bear his signature.
While the parties have not concluded that a solution has been reached, well-informed official sources said the issue would certainly be resolved, without giving Asharq Al-Awsat any further details, or whether the solution included a change in the names of the consuls included in the decree.
MTV reported that “Hezbollah” - Bassil and Amal’s ally - “succeeded in mediating between the movement and the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) in the crisis over the decree.”
It said on its website that the foreign minister will send to the Ministry of Finance two decrees to appoint honorary consuls to be signed by Khalil.
“President Michel Aoun and Speaker Nabih Berri are keen not to backslide the good relations between them. This has facilitated the efforts of ‘Hezbollah’ to overcome the problems surrounding the appointment of the consuls,” it added.
Former Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour remarked, however, that the appointment of honorary consuls does not incur financial burdens on the state, meaning the finance minister’s signature was not necessary.
The current crisis, therefore, seems to go beyond the question of ministerial powers, as the decree was submitted in February to the finance minister, who refused to sign it. The decree was issued late last month when the government assumed a caretaker role after the May 6 parliamentary elections.
Sources at the Finance Ministry said Hassan Khalil refused to sign the decree “because it did not take into account the sectarian, geographical and regional balance” in Lebanon.
