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| 29/05/2008 With 68 votes out of 127, head of the caretaker government Fouad Saniora is to head the next government, the national unity one. Saniora is expected to start consultations in parliament Friday on the distribution of the ministerial seats. On Thursday, Saniora would make his customary visits to former prime ministers, including the head of the Change and Reform parliamentary bloc MP Michel Aoun.
Meanwhile, Saniora's nomination by the loyalty bloc to head next cabinet couldn't pass without reactions by opposition MPs, who affirmed at the same time their determination to stick by the Doha Agreement and achieve real participation in the government.
In this context, the Loyalty to the Resistance parliamentary bloc said the loyalty bloc's nomination for Saniora did not reflect its willingness to start a new phase, noting that it practiced its right by abstaining from naming a candidate for the premiership since "the Doha Agreement did not include a condition calling for consensus over the prime minister, for this follows constitutional procedures that we are all familiar with."
"We, along with the opposition, are aware of the duty to participate in the new government no matter who is appointed as prime minister and irrespective of the dealings of the pro-majority party," the bloc said, stressing that the PM must respect the agreement while establishing the government. "The agreement was clear over the need to establish a national-unity government where the opposition has 11 ministers," it recalled.
For his part, MP Michel Aoun said that Saniora must step aside and make room for new mentalities. He stressed, however, his bloc would take part in the new government. "We will not be an opposition. We will be for all Lebanese and will prevent any infraction of the general rules. We will be the guards of the revolution," he pointed out.
RICE VERY GLAD FOR THE LEBANESE PEOPLE
At the meantime, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she looks forward to work with Lebanon's new president Michel Suleiman, whom she said will defend the country's independence and democracy.
"We very much look forward to work with the new president of Lebanon. We have long supported his election," Rice told reporters traveling with her to Stockholm for an international conference Thursday on Iraq.
"I'm very glad for the Lebanese people in particular that it's finally taken place. He is someone we believe will defend Lebanon's interests, Lebanon's independence, Lebanon's sovereignty and Lebanon's democracy," she claimed. | 
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