Former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri announced on Tuesday that he was not a candidate to head the new government, urging all parties to withdraw his name from the ongoing deliberations.
Sources said that Hariri has informed Speaker Nabih Berri and the head of the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP), Walid Jumblatt, of his decision prior to his announcement, and has also communicated with the former prime ministers about his stance.
The attendees of a meeting between Hariri and Jumblatt told Asharq Al-Awsat that the PSP chief has warned the former premier over attempts by certain parties to thwart his mission if he was nominated to head the new cabinet.
“Those have not learned from the successive crises, the last of which was the (Beirut) Port explosion. They are determined to follow the policies that led Lebanon to this status quo,” Jumblatt told Hariri as quoted by the sources.
Meanwhile, the rivals of Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Gebran Bassil blamed him for obstructing efforts to agree on a government that would save the country from its worsening crises and accelerate the implementation of reforms.
In a statement on Tuesday, Hariri said: “I declare that I am not a candidate to head the new government, and I hope that everyone will withdraw my name from deliberation in this regard.”
The former premier affirmed that he, along with al-Mustaqbal Bloc, will name a competent candidate who has “the ability to form a government that guarantees the success of the last opportunity that our country has.”
Hinting at Bassil, Hariri said: “I have noticed, like the rest of the Lebanese, that some political parties are still in a state of severe denial.”
“They see the new reality as a new opportunity… to achieve their personal goals and to cling to weak authoritarian gains,” he added.
