Following are summaries of some of the main stories in a selection of Lebanese newspapers Wednesday. The Daily Star cannot vouch for the accuracy of these reports.

An-Nahar

Wednesday’s Cabinet [meeting]: Priority to government, not electricity

STL funding to take place within time limit

Jumblatt first Lebanese official to visit Libya, pursuing Sadr case

The problem over the electricity bill – which has turned into a dispute within the government – goes to Cabinet Wednesday afternoon after becoming an issue of government survival.

Between the electricity plan and government survival, reports indicated on the eve of the Cabinet session that the will to survive was stronger, no matter the outcome of discussions on the electricity bill which swayed between a compromise and firmness as reflected both by Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) leader Michel Aoun.

In any case, observers believe that contacts in recent days, both internally and regionally, ended with an agreement that a collapse of the government would be intolerable given its original function toward the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) and the situation in Syria.

Mikati told An-Nahar in response to a question on the electricity issue that “things were moving toward a breakthrough,” adding that discussions have reached a point where harmony has been achieved.

“We don’t want to defeat anyone … We all work as a team on a bunch of proposals that will put the plan on the road to implementation within the regulations and standards that will prove convenient to everyone,” Mikat said.

Asked on the likelihood that FPM ministers would withdraw from the meeting if the electricity bill was not endorsed, Mikati said he has decided “not to enter into an argument that does not help anyone,” adding that Cabinet ministers want to reach consensus to provide the Lebanese people with electricity.

“We will spare no effort to achieve that,” he said.

Meanwhile, and for the second consecutive day, the issue of STL funding was raised with Mikati during a meeting with U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams.

A ministerial source told An-Nahar that funding would take place within the time limit “and there is plenty of time for that.”

The source stressed that the decision to finance the Special Tribunal “will be made at a national level and with responsibility, because Lebanon cannot afford [repercussions] for not funding [the STL].”

An-Nahar has learned that STL Registrar Herman von Hebel has informed Lebanese officials that funding is not limited to the current year, but includes a total of $32 million accumulated from the previous government.

As-Safir

Pre-meeting discussions: comprehensive deal ... variety funding … re-distribution of amounts

Electricity either illuminates government today or else … confrontation

Cabinet is expected to take a decision on the electricity issue during Wednesday’s meeting – whether by consensus or a vote. Speaking to As-Safir, well-informed officials ruled out a ballot decision.

Backstage contacts intensified Tuesday between the various parties within the government in a race with time in an effort to build a common vision for the electricity plan prior to the meeting. In this respect, more than one telephone conversation took place between Speaker Nabih Berri as well as Mikati and leaders from Hezbollah and the Free Patriotic Movement. Meanwhile, MP Ali Hasan Khalil shuttled back and forth between the parties.

In one of the phone conversations, As-Safir learned that Mikati had told Berri that he would send him a draft solution. But Berri refused to receive the draft, saying that he was not concerned with the details of the text. Instead, Berri called for “reaching a joint understanding on a satisfactory draft. And I am willing to go with what you agree on.”

Consultations, which lasted well into the night, achieved a positive climate that should create an appropriate environment for the Cabinet meeting. Yet the translation of this climate awaits a final response from Aoun on the latest version proposed as a solution to the electricity dispute.

Sources told As-Safir late Tuesday that Aoun was likely to approve the draft since it meets the spirit of the plan put forth by his [son-in-law] Energy Minister Jibran Bassil.

Al-Liwaa

Regional pressure rescues government … STL funding precedes electricity funding!

Aoun demands Hezbollah backing … Franjieh ministers voice reservations about withdrawal from [Cabinet] session

Talks Tuesday night rescued the government from collapse and preserved the image of its unity after those involved took into consideration both regional and international developments beyond domestic affairs.

Despite Aoun’s reiteration that he would not compromise on the electricity bill – which followed a press conference by Bassil aimed at pressuring [Mikati] – ministerial sources said late Tuesday evening that efforts neared an agreement necessitated by regional events, yet preserved the spirit of the power plan as presented by Bassil.

The agreement, according to the sources, calls for the gradual implementation related to finance and operations, or a solution to the problem in stages.

Contributing to the achievement of this solution was Hezbollah’s success in avoiding a collapse in the government, said a source closely following up on the electricity issue. Ministers from Tashnag and Suleiman Franjieh’s Marada Movement informed Aoun that they were not compelled to withdraw from Wednesday’s meeting, leaving pro-Aoun ministers to fight alone.

Meanwhile, parliamentary sources close to the Shiite party said they believed the priority should be the STL and not the electricity plan.

According to information, the STL delegation which met Mikati and Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi called on Lebanon to ensure the payment of arrears owed to the government – equivalent to 49 percent of the tribunal’s budget for 2011.