عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Lebanon’s Hariri to Name Candidate for Premiership during Parliamentary Consultations

Lebanese former PM Saad Hariri. (AFP)
Lebanese former PM Saad Hariri. (AFP)
TT
TT

Lebanon’s Hariri to Name Candidate for Premiership during Parliamentary Consultations

Lebanese former PM Saad Hariri. (AFP)
Lebanese former PM Saad Hariri. (AFP)

Lebanese former Prime Minister Saad Hariri will choose on Sunday his candidate for the position of prime minister ahead of Monday’s binding parliamentary consultations at the presidential palace.

He will name the candidate during the consultations.

Informed political sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that “the issue of the government has been decided and all that remains are procedural matters.”

“Hariri has remained insistent on his rejection of his appointment as PM-designate,” they added.

March 8 camp sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Hariri informed parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Saturday that he will name his candidate for the premiership hours before the consultations.

Sources close to Hariri stressed that the former PM will inform President Michel Aoun of his choice during the consultations, not before, in line with the constitution.

Local media have speculated that Hariri has chosen a figure from the northern city of Tripoli. The figure will be a first-time candidate for the post.

Former minister Rashid Derbas ruled himself out of the running, telling local media that he was never approached with the issue.

The “Shiite duo” of the Hezbollah party and Berri’s Amal movement, along with the Marada movement and other lawmakers, are still demanding that Hariri be tasked with heading the new cabinet. They cited his international connections and the world’s assistance to Lebanon in wake of the devastating August 4 Beirut port blast.

Berri will accept a candidate proposed by Hariri if the former PM insists on remaining out of the race.

Local circles said the formation of the government will be facilitated so that it can focus on saving Lebanon and its floundering economy. It will not be a heavily political cabinet and will not include provocative figures. Rather, the government will be protected politically and it will have an either political or techno-political identity.

On allegations that Hezbollah will not be represented in the new government as part of such so-called facilitations and in line with international demands, informed sources denied the claims, saying the party will name its ministers.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

EU Preparing to Appoint Envoy to Syria to Address Migration Crisis

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni hold a joint press conference in Beirut. (Reuters)
Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni hold a joint press conference in Beirut. (Reuters)
TT
TT

EU Preparing to Appoint Envoy to Syria to Address Migration Crisis

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni hold a joint press conference in Beirut. (Reuters)
Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni hold a joint press conference in Beirut. (Reuters)

The European Union is preparing to appoint a special envoy to Syria, with officials from the Commission and the External Relations Department emphasizing that this move is not intended to “normalize relations with the regime” but rather to address the escalating migration crisis, which is expected to become increasingly complex after recent developments in Lebanon.

Lebanon has seen nearly a quarter of its population displaced, with many of their homes destroyed in border villages and parts of Beirut due to Israeli attacks.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, in coordination with her Austrian counterpart, has been active in recent months, pushing the EU toward normalizing relations with Syria to facilitate the return of refugees.

However, some member states, led by France, have strongly opposed this approach, ultimately agreeing—after extensive negotiations within the European Council—to appoint a special envoy whose mandate is limited to addressing the refugee crisis.

The issue of refugees and displaced persons was central to Meloni’s recent discussions during her regional visit, with Beirut as her final stop. There, Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati urged her to intervene to help resolve the crisis, which poses significant challenges as winter approaches.

In July, Italy, currently holding the G7 presidency, decided to appoint an envoy to Damascus to “shed light” on Syria, as Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani put it.

Italy had withdrawn all its diplomatic staff from Damascus in 2012 and suspended its diplomatic activities in Syria in protest against the “unacceptable violence” by Bashar al-Assad’s regime against its citizens, who were holding peaceful rallies against his rule.

Earlier this summer, Italy and seven other EU countries sent a letter to EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell, urging a more active European role in Syria to help return a number of Syrian refugees from EU countries, particularly Austria, Slovenia, and Croatia.

The signatories called for an end to the EU’s “three no’s” policy: no lifting of sanctions, no normalization, and no reconstruction under the current regime, emphasizing that peace in Syria is impossible as long as the current government remains in power.

Reports from the EU Migration Department indicate that Syrians continue to leave their country in significant numbers due to worsening economic conditions. Many Syrian refugees in Lebanon are also joining irregular migration routes to Europe, as living conditions have deteriorated in Lebanon in recent years. Italy, Austria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Greece, Croatia, Slovenia, and Slovakia signed the letter.

Most of these countries have recently reopened their embassies in Damascus, with Italy the only G7 nation, to resume diplomatic activities in the Syrian capital.

Italian sources have expressed concerns that Israel’s war on Lebanon could spill over into Syria or expand regionally, potentially triggering another large-scale migration crisis that the EU may not be prepared to handle under current conditions.

However, the new European policy, spearheaded by Italy amid the ongoing regional shifts, aims for a broader objective: enhancing the EU’s presence in Syria to compete with Russia, contain the Iranian regime, which has recently faced significant setbacks, and counter Türkiye's expanding influence.

Syria has been under sanctions from the United States, the EU, and several other countries since 2011.