Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri requested a ministerial share separate from that of his Mustaqbal Movement, alike President Michel Aoun, who is demanding to have a ministerial share separate from his allied bloc, the Strong Lebanon, sources close to the PM said.
Echoing voices that support the customarily request of presidents to have a separate ministerial share in any cabinet based on norms followed since the Taef Accord, those sources said that not receiving a separate number of portfolios in previous cabinets does not mean that Hariri should not demand his own share now.
“On the contrary, Aoun and Hariri should each receive three portfolios instead of the President having five ministers,” the sources said. Contradictory reactions surged on Wednesday concerning Hariri’s new proposal.
Sources close to the Lebanese Presidency said that Aoun wasn’t yet officially informed about the PM’s suggestion, saying the the President does not oppose it.
However, Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) deputy Mario Aoun described the proposal as the “start of chaos.”
Hariri’s sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that such a request should not embarrass the President, adding there “will be no recourse to customary practices at the expense of the PM or the President.”
The sources said, “President Aoun’s request to have a ministerial share separate from the Strong Lebanon bloc is a demand not stipulated in the Constitution. Therefore, it is necessary that Hariri also gets a share separate from his Mustaqbal Movement, in respect to the country’s balance of power.”
Last Monday, Hariri ended consultations in Parliament with the parliamentary blocs and MPs to discuss the form of his new government.
The sources denied that the two shares of the President and the PM would negatively affect on the distribution of portfolios among parliamentary blocs.
“Instead of giving five ministers to the President, Aoun could receive three portfolios and PM Hariri another three,” the sources said.
At the Constitutional level, Dr. Paul Morcos, the head of Justicia legal organization told Asharq Al-Awsat there are no constitutional texts allocating a ministerial share to any reference or parliamentary bloc.
Therefore, he said, Hariri and Aoun have no rights to demand such shares.
