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| 08/07/2008 As the opposition in Lebanon handed over Prime Minister Designate Fouad Saniora the list of names for its share of portfolios, the loyalty bloc admitted responsibility in delaying the cabinet formation. Yet, their argument is more amateur than convincing: “It took the opposition five weeks to reach an agreement on the distribution of shares, so five days more would not be harmful,” they argue. The opposite argument on the other hand is: What were you doing during the past five weeks other than accusing the opposition of obstructing the formation of the new cabinet?
Indeed, consultations within the loyalty bloc continued on Tuesday in a bid to reach an agreement that would safeguard the camp from potential explosion, especially with threats of quitting the government are being launched from here and there if requests were not fulfilled.
In this context, Saniora met on Tuesday Lebanese President Michel Suleiman at Baabda presidential palace and briefed him on what has happened over the past two days. "What I can say is that we are making progress, and I hope we will succeed," Saniora told journalists after the meeting.
Saniora claimed there were no problems within the loyalty bloc in the cabinet formation, saying that he feels reassured with the progress made, recalling that "we spent 35 days overcoming obstacles, and in the past three days we have resolved a number of problems."
Earlier, the head of Future movement MP Saad Hariri met with Saniora at the Grand Serail to discuss the cabinet formation.
Hariri, who returned Tuesday at dawn from Saudi Arabia, said “there are no problems or complications in the distribution of ministerial portfolios among the March 14 ranks.”
“I believe all issues will be resolved in the next two days,” Hariri added.
But a senior source from the loyalty bloc told Lebanese daily An-Nahar that the "differences and rivalries" over the cabinet portfolios were due to "natural consequences" resulting from five weeks of trying to settle the dispute with the opposition over the distribution of seats.
According to the source, a meeting for the bloc’s leading figures is also expected in the coming few hours to fix the distribution of portfolios after Hariri returned to Beirut early Tuesday.
HARIRI'S MISSION SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE GIVEN GEAGEA'S CONDITIONS
However Hariri’s mission seems difficult if not impossible, given the complexity of requests. In this context, well-informed sources told Al-Manar that the problem of Samir Geagea’s "Lebanese Forces" was not ministerial but "Aounist" (in reference to the head of Reform and Change parliamentary bloc MP Michel Aoun).
"How could Aoun get an essential portfolio (telecommunication) while the LF is not given the public work?" the source quoted an LF official as saying. But the answer came quick from a governmental source that told Al-Manar that the public work portfolio was Tripoli's share, namely MP Mohamad Safadi's. The same portfolio has also been demanded by the Democratic Gathering for minister Ghazi Aridi, according to an informed source speaking to Lebanese daily As-Safir.
JUMBLATT: DO NOT TAKE GEAGEA REQUESTS INTO CONSIDERATION!
Meanwhile, Geagea’s staunch ally MP Walid Jumblatt, who seemed annoyed by the multiple requests and obstructions, was quoted by Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar as stressing the need to not take Geagea's multiple requests into consideration.
Also speaking to Lebanese daily As-Safir, Jumblatt said he feels that both the opposition and loyalty blocs would seek to nominate the largest number of what he described as "non-professionals and losers" for the legislative elections.
Jumblatt said he excludes former Minister Talal Arslan from this category given his status within the Druze community in the Mountain.
"It would have been better to restore the present government than to go through these low-level disputes over the ministerial portfolios," Jumblatt pointed out, adding that the current caretaker government includes an elite group of ministers.
BERRI ANGRY: THEY ARE PLAYING A TIME WASTING GAME!
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri also expressed regret the government wasn't formed until this moment, according to sources close to him. The sources said there was an agreement between Saniora and Berri to announce the cabinet from the Baabda presidential palace on Monday, "but nothing happened."
Berri visitors had earlier told Lebanese daily Al-Balad that he was very angry of the role distribution and time wasting game that the loyalty bloc was playing. They said, however, that Berri was confident the government would be formed even if it took an additional week. | 
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