Summary
Serious negotiations on the formation of a new government will go into full swing starting Monday after Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri's return to Beirut from a visit to Saudi Arabia over the weekend.
Hariri has maintained his optimism about the formation of a new government after Eid al-Fitr despite hurdles and conflicting demands by political rivals for key ministerial posts.
Hariri's speech came as political rivals engaged in the usual jockeying in a bid to grab a greater share of Cabinet posts, despite promises made by the leaders of major parliamentary blocs to help facilitate and accelerate the formation of a new unity government representing all parties.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah and caretaker Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil agreed on the need for a new government to be formed quickly, taking into account the results of last month's parliamentary elections, according to a statement issued by the Free Patriotic Movement's media committee Sunday.
Caretaker Youth and Sports Minister Mohammad Fneish, one of two Hezbollah ministers in the caretaker Cabinet, said his party's demand for a significant representation in the new government was legitimate.
Hariri was quoted by MTV Friday as saying that Hezbollah would have three ministers in a 30-member Cabinet.
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