Several political forces in Beirut voiced Tuesday their rejection of French President Emmanuel Macron’s remarks that held the entire Lebanese political class responsible for defaulting on their promise to him on Sept. 1 to swiftly form a government that could start reforms and trigger vital foreign aid.
Free Patriotic Movement head, MP Gebran Bassil said in a tweet on Tuesday that Macron’s statements were "constructive" and "realistic," except for the part where the President held all political leaders responsible for the country’s economic and political stalemate.
"President Macron’s recent speech was constructive, realistic, and objective, and it mirrored keenness on Lebanon, except for the part that holds every responsible for the fiasco," Bassil wrote.
For its part, the Amal Movement's Politburo on Tuesday said in a statement that "the Movement, while respecting the role performed by Macron, is surprised at the accusations and responsibilities directed especially against the 'national duo'- Amal Movement and Hezbollah- far from the realities and facts of the discussions conducted with the PM-designate."
It said Amal’s head Nabih Berri had been and is still at the forefront of those keen on preserving Lebanon’s stability and the unity of its people, the regularity of the work of its political and constitutional institutions, as well as the first to initiate to organize internal dialogue among the various forces in complicated political circumstances, as well as the caller for the establishment of a civil state.
During a speech delivered from Paris last Sunday, Macron gave Lebanon’s politicians another four to six weeks to form a government within the framework of the French initiative and escalated his tone against Hezbollah and Amal Movement, accusing them of obstructing the cabinet’s birth.
PM-designate Mustapha Adib quit last week after failing to line up a non-partisan cabinet, dealing a blow to the French plan aimed at rallying sectarian leaders to tackle the country's crisis.
His efforts hit a snag when the Shiite Amal and Hezbollah groups insisted on naming Shiite ministers and appointing a Shiite figure as finance minister.