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| 02/07/2008 While the Lebanese are still hoping a national-unity government would be formed to give liberated detainees an official welcome, no breakthrough seems to have been reached in the ongoing consultations between rival political parties.
The last of these consultations saw President Michel Suleiman in a midnight meeting with MP Saad Hariri at the Baabda Presidential palace Tuesday.
This surprise visit has given the consultations fresh momentum, given Hariri's "positive" statement before leaving the palace.
At the time Prime Minister-Designate Fouad Saniora was said to have "frozen" contacts with the head of the Change and Reform parliamentary bloc MP Michel Aoun, Hariri announced he was going to launch fresh contacts, including talks with Aoun, and said so will President Suleiman and Prime Minister-designate Fouad Saniora in an effort to end the cabinet stalemate.
"The formation of the government should not mean that some win and others lose. Contacts between the opposition and the majority must be strengthened. I will personally make some contacts, and so will the commissioned prime minister and we hope to succeed," Hariri said, adding that he hopes "we will no longer talk about an opposition and a loyalty bloc since we will all together form a national-unity government."
"The Lebanese are fed up of this cabinet issue," Hariri told reporters at the end of the three-hour meeting, insisting that the crisis should end soon based on the "no victor, no vanquished" formula
OPPOSITION: PUT POSITIVE STATEMENTS INTO PRACTICE
The national opposition welcomed Hariri's positive tone and expressed hope it would be translated into actions. In this context, the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) political relations officer Gebran Bassil stressed that "the positive attitude Hariri displayed in his statement must be put in practice," noting that "the establishment of the government cannot be delayed anymore, and people are yearning for someone to look at their problems."
"We have accepted compromises and were very positive, and we are waiting for the other party to act in a similar way so we can meet halfway," Bassil said, adding that the establishment of a national-unity government and the adoption of a new electoral law would drive Lebanon into a new and better political phase.
AOUN: GOV'T FORMATION BLOCKED BY EXTERNAL PARTIES
Meanwhile, General Aoun told the Lebanese newspaper The Daily Star that none of the government scenarios being circulated in the media have actually reached him. He also pointed out that outside and not local parties were blocking the formation of the new cabinet.
In the same context, the FPM leader was quoted by Lebanese daily An-Nahar as saying that no new suggestions on how to allocate seats in the next government have been proposed to him, "but they are accusing us of obstruction."
"Everyone knows the source of obstruction. One of the main reasons for the dispute is the government’s plan of action and the return of the Saudis to the situation," Aoun stressed.
The General also insisted that he is not in favor of hindering formation of the new government, vowing to facilitate efforts to make the cabinet see light soon. | 
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