Speaker Nabih Berri has warned the Lebanese government not to engage in political bickering that could lead to disagreements among its members, parliamentary sources said.
Commenting on a recent rift between President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Hassan Diab over a power plant, the sources quoted Berri as saying that the “winner of this confrontation will inevitably be among the losers, because the loss will threaten harmony within the government on one hand, and hinder its mission in addressing the economic and financial collapse, on the other.”
The same sources confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that all parties are aware of Berri’s advice, including the leader of the Free Patriotic Movement, MP Gebran Bassil, who is Aoun's son-in-law. The latter has failed to persuade his ally, Hezbollah, to change its position and vote in favor of establishing the plant in Silaata.
A cabinet minister has been quoted as saying that Aoun has insisted on the government to review on Friday a decision it took during a previous session to reject the establishment of the power plant.
But this doesn’t mean that the majority of ministers would support his move. The minister said that some cabinet members would not yield to the pressure exerted by the FPM, which has been established by Aoun, to vote in favor of the plant.
According to the source, at least nine ministers would insist on their position by voting against the establishment of the facility. Hezbollah could also refrain from voting.
He added that eight ministers would back the president’s request, and another cabinet member might join them, referring to pressure exerted on Minister of Information Manal Abdel Samad, who is close to Diab.
The minister expects that the government would be equally divided between Aoun and the prime minister, as long as Hezbollah’s ministers refrain from voting.
