BEIRUT: A national unity cabinet based on the 15-10-5 formula is expected to see light in the next 48 hours.
Both parliamentary and opposition sources claimed Friday that the distribution of portfolios was nearly complete, with only a few details still requiring discussion. President Michel Sleiman said Friday the atmosphere was positive, stressing that political parties were close to sealing a deal on the cabinet line-up.
The president’s visitors quoted Sleiman as saying that minor details were still being negotiated, following the approval of Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) leader Michel Aoun’s acceptance of Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri’s proposal.
Visitors to Baabda Palace added that Hariri was expected to visit Sleiman in the upcoming 48 hours, to inform him of the latest agreement on the cabinet make-up.
Meanwhile, FPM sources told The Daily Star that almost all hurdles facing the cabinet formation had been resolved; thus, the formation process was expected to be concluded within the next 48 hours.
Future Movement sources told The Daily Star Friday that while Aoun had yet to respond formally to Hariri’s proposal with regard to the Reform and Change bloc’s share in the next government, they stressed that only a few details remained to be discussed.
Hariri’s proposal gives the Reform and Change bloc the Telecommunications, Energy, Tourism and Industry portfolios, along with a ministry of state to be headed by Zghorta MP Suleiman Franjieh, Aoun’s ally.
Hussein Khalil – the political adviser to Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah – and Marada leader Suleiman Franjieh, relayed the proposals and counter-proposals between the two camps.
Accordingly, Aoun’s bloc would retain the Telecommunications and Energy portfolios, which his party currently holds in the caretaker cabinet, while the Agriculture and Social Affairs Mmnistries would be substituted with the Tourism and Industry portfolios.
The FPM leader, in remarks to be published by the daily Ash-Sharq al-Awsat on Saturday, said he expected the new government to be formed by the end of this week if no unexpected complications arise. Aoun added that the formation process was in its final stages and stressed that negotiations with Hariri were ongoing.
Aoun’s son-in-law, caretaker Telecommunications Minister Gibran Bassil said on Friday that some details were still being discussed regarding the cabinet’s formation, adding that his party retains the right to nominate its own ministers in the next government.
Meanwhile, Chouf MP George Adwan, a Lebanese Forces (LF) official, said Aoun had accepted Hariri’s last proposal, which grants the Reform and Change bloc the Industry, Tourism, Telecommunications and Energy Ministries, the latter to be headed by Bassil.
Adwan added the premier-designate was coordinating the cabinet line-up with the LF. He denied that disputes between March 14 Christian parties were behind the cabinet deadlock.
LF official and Batroun MP Antoine Zahra said Friday that the cabinet could be formed within the next 48 hours following signals by Syria and Iran to facilitate the cabinet formation.
“Syria is giving clear signals to facilitate the cabinet formation, given the concrete steps by Franjieh following the Syrian-Saudi summit,” Zahra said, adding that “Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem’s statement in Iran, that a cabinet should be formed, led to the resolution of obstacles.”
Zahra stressed that the next cabinet would grant the LF, along with the other Christian parties of the March 14 alliance, five portfolios and two state ministries, adding that he expects Batroun MP Boutros Harb to be appointed Justice Minister.
Voicing optimism with regard to the prompt conclusion of the formation process, Marjayoun-Hasbaya MP Qassem Hashem said Friday that the final details of the cabinet formation were being negotiated as he described the atmosphere as positive.
Nevertheless, Hashem, a member of Speaker Nabih Berri’s parliamentary bloc, warned that any further delays in the government formation would lead to a severe political crisis, particularly since no further obstacles hindered the formation process.
For his part, former MP Ammar Musawi, Hizbullah’s international relations officer, said on Friday the cabinet formation had reached its final stages, given that all complications concerning the government make-up were resolved.
Musawi added that an agreement was reached with major leaders of the March 14 coalition, regarding the new government’s policy statement, adding that some parties were still debating the statement to improve their position in negotiations.
Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir stressed on Friday that he would not abandon his most recent positions with regard to Hizbullah’s arms and the majority’s right to form a cabinet.
Sfeir said in remarks published last week by Al-Massira weekly magazine that “democracy and weapons cannot coexist while the minority and majority cannot coexist in one cabinet.”
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