Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri said the issue of the government would be decided next week, following a meeting on Wednesday with Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt.
Jumblatt, for his part, expressed hope that the government would be formed soon.
“There are positive matters developing in the government file, and I will resolve this issue next week; we want a government of national unity to restore the confidence of the citizens,” Hariri said, refusing to answer a question on whether he might relinquish the role of premier-designate.
While he refused to delve into the details of the proposed solutions, he stressed that regional differences “should not prevent us from achieving the interest of the Lebanese people, and in light of the economic reality, we have to be a bit humble.”
Lebanese leaders are currently working to agree on the distribution of some ministerial portfolios, after resolving what has become known as the “Sunni node”, by allocating a ministry to the pro-March 8 “Sunni Consultative Meeting” from the share of President Michel Aoun. This formula will prevent any side from securing the vetoing third within the cabinet.
Sources in Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) told Asharq Al-Awsat that the agreement was based on the idea that the minister be a member of the president’s working group, but when voting on some issues, he would discuss the matter with the Consultative Meeting to take the appropriate decision.
If this proposal is implemented, Foreign Minister in the caretaker government and FPM leader Gebran Bassil would be giving up his requirement that the FPM and Aoun’s blocs secure the blocking third with 11 ministers.
Meanwhile, Speaker Nabih Berri was quoted as talking about “a new breath and momentum to form a government within a week or less.”
Development and Liberation bloc MP Ali Bazzi said that Berri underlined the need to overcome political bickering and divisions and face the country’s economic and financial challenges.
