Lebanese Gov’t Dilemma: PM-designate Meets President, Hopes for Formation within Days

By Staff, Agencies

In the course of attempting to solve the unending Lebanese dilemma, Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati announced Monday that the cabinet formation negotiations have entered the phase of picking candidates, signaling that an agreement has been reached on the distribution of ministerial portfolios.

“We are trying to resolve the issue in a manner that is convenient for everyone,” Miqati said after meeting President Michel Aoun in Baabda.

Adding that there will be further meetings this week, Mikati confirmed that the discussions have entered the names phase.

Responding to a reporter’s question, Miqati said: “The chances of forming a government are higher than those of stepping down. There is no specific deadline but the time frame is not open-ended.”

The Lebanese head of state, for his part, hoped on Monday that the new government will be formed in the “next few days,” as he stressed that he will not resign.

Noting that he is a “partner” with the PM-designate in the formation process, Aoun said he has the right to choose from the proposed candidates.

“I will not resign and I will perform my duties until the end,” the President emphasized.

“I hope that the phase of rebuilding Lebanon psychologically and materially will start with me before being completed by the new president,” Aoun went on to say.

He added: “We hope to be able to curb the crisis through the formation of a new government in the next few days, despite the efforts by some to obstruct this formation.”

Aoun also said that the new government would start “structural reforms and negotiations with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to rebuild Lebanon and re-organized it administratively and politically at the various levels.”