While caretaker Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil is still working on ideas to solve the “Sunni node,” which obstructs the birth of a new cabinet in Lebanon, Sunni deputies from the pro-Hezbollah “March 8” team said Saturday they received no new proposals concerning their request to be represented in the new government, and instead they insisted that Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri chooses one of them as minister.
The Central News Agency quoted sources form the Consultative Gathering as saying, “The six deputies have not yet touched any developments concerning the current dealt proposals.”
The sources added that any initiative that does not include naming one of the six deputies as a minister in the new government is considered “born dead.”
MP Jihad Samad, one of the deputies, even told a local television station Saturday, “Before accepting to enter the cabinet, we will discuss which portfolio would be given to us, including options like the Interior Ministry or the Telecommunications Ministry.”
The stringent position of the six March 8 Sunni deputies came as Caretaker Public Health Minister Ghassan Hasbani representing the Lebanese Forces (LF), said a government should be formed with those attending.
And despite the absence of any positivity concerning proposals to solve the “Sunni node,” President Michel Aoun's International Cooperation Adviser Elias Bou Saab expressed his optimism that a new government might be formed before the end of the year holidays.
“In case no agreement is reached during this month, this means that the dispute has moved to the foreign level,” he said.
Commenting on Bassil’s initiative, Bou Saad said that a solution should not come at the expense of any party.
He confirmed that Hezbollah has no intention to weaken Aoun’s presidential term, adding that the President is also keen on not weakening the position of the Prime Minister-designate.
