A lengthy meeting was held on Friday between Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, the head of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), MP Gebran Bassil and a representative from Hezbollah to discuss the formation of the new government.
The meeting was based on Berri’s proposal for the return of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri to head the new cabinet.
Well-informed sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the talks were held in the presence of Berri’s aide, former Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil, and the political assistant of Hezbollah’s secretary general, Hussein Khalil.
Sources were quoted as saying that the meeting was the beginning of serious consultations over the new government and its tasks, but did not touch on the name of the prime minister.
Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Najib Mikati criticized “the delay in calling for binding parliamentary consultations to name the next prime minister.”
He stressed the need to “conduct consultations to form a rescue government of reliable figures, who would restore the citizens’ confidence in the state and commit to a specific and clear program aimed at swiftly addressing the repercussions of the Beirut port explosion and adopting the necessary reforms to launch cooperation with the relevant international institutions.”
Mustaqbal Movement MP Hadi Hobeish emphasized “the need to accelerate the formation of the government” and to take advantage of the international and Arab movement in this direction. He said that communication was ongoing, but noted that the formation process might need some time “before reaching the desired results.”
“If Hariri agrees to head the new cabinet, he will have his conditions, the first of which is for the government to be productive and effective, as the Lebanese people have had enough of disruption and vacuum,” Hobeish stated.
FPM MP Edgard Maalouf said his party would support any prime minister who is “committed to implementing the required reforms.”
In contrast, Lebanese Forces MP Wehbi Qatisha reiterated his party’s rejection to form a unity government. He wrote on Twitter: “Forming a national unity government or a cabinet of political parties is like someone who wants to extinguish the fire with another fire.”
