President Michel Aoun Thursday promised the formation of an "efficient" and "productive" government that would fulfill the peoples' ambitions and aspirations, but he blamed the delay on "contradictions" in Lebanese politics.
Aoun called on protesters, who have staged an unprecedented popular uprising across the country against the ruling political elite, paralyzing life and businesses, to help him in the fight against corruption.
Aoun's speech comes as Lebanon edges closer to economic collapse and remains without a fully functioning government after Prime Minister Saad Hariri resigned on Oct. 29 under the pressure of snowballing street protests, leaving the country with a caretaker government. Thursday was the 36th consecutive day of the national uprising that erupted on Oct. 17 .
In his speech, Aoun did not outline the shape of the next government, a contentious issue between Hariri on the one hand, and the president, the Free Patriotic Movement, the Amal Movement and Hezbollah, on the other.
Aoun praised the protest movement and the media for shedding light on corruption as "healthy and useful".
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