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| 07/07/2008 So it’s not the opposition that’s been delaying the formation of a new cabinet in Lebanon.
Since Fouad Saniora has been charged to form the national-unity government agreed upon in Doha, accusations started: the national opposition is happy with the actual situation and therefore is preventing the cabinet make-up, the head of the Change and Reform parliamentary bloc MP Michel Aoun doesn't want to take part in the government and is fabricating preconditions to obstruct solutions.
Nevertheless, an agreement has been reached between Saniora and Aoun on the distribution of shares on Friday, and the opposition has given its final choices to the PM-Designate. But, three days after the agreement was reached, the expected national-unity government hasn't seen light yet, proving that the real problem lies within Christians in the loyalty bloc who found themselves incapable of making decisions on the distribution of shares and portfolios, thus delaying once again the cabinet formation.
CHALLENGE: HOW TO DISTRIBUTE 11 SEATS AMONG LOYALTY BLOC CONSTITUENTS?!
On Monday, telecommunications minister in the caretaker government summarized the whole crisis by telling Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar that the problem was that the opposition has taken the important seats. Indeed, the opposition got the seats of labor, youth and sports and a minister without portfolio for Hezbollah; foreign, health and industry for Amal Movement; social affairs, telecommunications, agriculture, power and the seat of vice premier for the Change and Reform bloc. The 11 portfolios to be filled yet are: finance, education, justice, public works, economy, ministry of the displaced, information, environment, culture, administrative development and tourism. The main challenge to be handled yet is how to distribute 11 seats among the loyalty bloc constituents.
LOYALTY BLOC FIGURES DENY CONFLICTS; THREATEN OF RESIGNING
However, the loyalty bloc is still denying there are internal problems that are preventing the government from being formed quickly, although some blocs have threatened not to take part in the government if certain demands were not fulfilled. In this context, member of Lebanese Forces parliamentary bloc MP Antoine Zahra said that his party would "facilitate the government formation by not taking part in it if it was marginalized." For his part, MP Mohamad Safadi was reportedly saying he would retreat from the government if he wasn't given the public works portfolio, the same portfolio that member of the Democratic Gathering MP Wael Abu Faour said it would be his bloc's share after giving up the telecommunication ministry.
OPPOSITION HAS SETTLED NAMES AND PORTFOLIOS
Meanwhile, well-informed sources told Al-Manar that the opposition has submitted to the PM-Designate the names of its eleven ministers while the other bloc hasn't yet settled neither the names nor the distribution of portfolios.
According to the sources, the Change and Reform parliamentary bloc ministers would be Gebran Bassil (telecommunications), Mario Aoun (social affairs), MP Elias Skaff (agriculture), Alan Tabourian (energy), Issam Abou Jamra (deputy premier). Turning to Amal movement, Health and Foreign Affairs ministers Mohamad Jawad Khalife and Fawzi Salloukh would remain on their posts while the industry ministry would go either to Talal Sahili or Ghazi Zeaiter.
As for Hezbollah, it has only named Mohamad Fneish for the ministry of work, satisfying its promise of representing other opposition forces in the government. The sources said the party was still awaiting MP Saad Hariri's response on exchanging a Shiite minister for a Sunni, noting that MP Walid Jumblatt, on the other hand, has given approval to exchange a Druze to a Shiite. If the Shiite given minister was given a portfolio, the Hezbollah second portfolio (youth and sport) would be allocated to former minister Talal Arslan and the Hezbollah state ministry to former minister Ali Kanso; otherwise, the opposite would happen.
HEZBOLLAH: ALL OPPOSITION MINISTERS REPRESENT US!
The head of the Loyalty to the Resistance parliamentary bloc MP Mohamad Read said the forthcoming cabinet would meet its traditional demand of "partnership in decision-making, pending the holding of parliamentary elections" in 2009.
"We made whatever possible concessions and we gave two seats from our share to our allies … our share is whatever all the opposition gets and it wouldn't be restricted to just one minister representing Hizbullah," Raad said in a statement. "Our share is (made up of) all the ministers who represent the opposition," he added.
President Michel Suleiman's share also has been settled by nominating Elias Murr to handle the defense portfolio, Ziad Baroud to handle the interior ministry and a Roman Catholic personality as minister without portfolio.
PROBLEM RESTRICTED TO "MARCH 14" CHRISTIANS!
The basic problem, however, is limited to the "March 14" Christian bloc. Sources close to Saniora told Al-Manar that the main challenge was on how to distribute seven portfolios on more than six parties, including the Future Movement, the Democratic Gathering, the Lebanese Forces, Phalanges party, Kernet Shehwen and other candidates, and also Nonetheless, the sources expected the government would see light with twenty-four hours, or Wednesday at the latest. |
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