Siniora declares 'a lot of progress' in formation of unity government

09 July 2008

BEIRUT: Premier Fouad Siniora said Tuesday that he hoped a new cabinet would be formed before President Michel Sleiman leaves the country on July 12 to participate in the Mediterranean Union summit in France. Siniora said after meeting Sleiman at the Presidential Palace that progress was being made toward the creation of the new cabinet. "I do not want to set a specific date, but I can assure you that a lot of progress has been made," he told reporters.

Siniora denied that obstacles within the parliamentary majority were delaying the formation of the new government.

The premier added that the opposition had submitted the names of most, but not all of its nominees for the new cabinet.

"I received the names of most opposition candidates, but I am still short two names," he said.

Asked about his position on Hizbullah's alleged support for including former Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP) head Ali Kanso in the new government, Siniora said he had not received Kanso's nomination.

Siniora also met on Tuesday with parliamentary majority leader MP Saad Hariri at the Grand Serail. Hariri said after the meeting that Lebanon's national unity cabinet would be formed within the next 48 hours.

Hariri also denied the existence of divisions within the March 14 Forces camp over allocating shares in the cabinet.

"Whoever is betting on disagreements within March 14 ranks is bound to fail," Hariri said, adding that it was only normal for the parliamentary majority to take its time with internal consultations after the opposition had taken more than a month to work out its demands.

"There are different parties and views within March 14, but our unified cause is Lebanon," he added.

Hariri said that he was dismayed by talk about sectarian shares in the new cabinet.

"We hear people speaking of Maronite, Sunni and Shiite shares ... What about Lebanon's share?" he asked.

Later on Tuesday, Hariri reiterated after meeting Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea at the latter's residence in Maarab that there were no divisions within the March 14 Forces.

"There are no obstacles and the government will see the light as soon as possible," Hariri said.

"We do not distinguish between the different parties constituting the March 14 coalition ... We are all one because we have one cause," he added.

Hariri also indirectly criticized Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun. "Some parties are claiming to be advocates of Christian rights after they blocked the election of a new president for six months," he said, in a thinly veiled swipe at the retired general.

Hariri returned to Beirut on Tuesday following reports that a new cabinet would not be created before his return.

Hariri is expected to work on sorting out the differences within the March 14 Forces over the distribution of portfolios in the new government.

The differences within the parliamentary majority camp surfaced after Siniora reached an agreement with the opposition on its share of cabinet posts over the weekend.

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Hizbullah have already handed Siniora a list of their nominees for the cabinet.

Aoun's list of nominees included Gibran Bassil (telecommunications), Mario Aoun (social affairs), former Minister Alain Tabourian (energy), MP Elias Skaff (agriculture), and retired General Issam Abu Jamra for the post of deputy premier.

The speaker has reportedly tipped resigned Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh and resigned Health Minister Mohammad Jawad Khalifeh to return to their respective posts.

Berri's third nominee was MP Ghazi Zeaiter (industry).

Meanwhile, Hizbullah has reportedly given up two-thirds of its three-minister quota to its allies in the opposition by nominating Kanso and Democratic Party chief Talal Arslan.

News reports on Tuesday said that Kanso and Arslan will likely be non-portfolio ministers unless one of them gets the Youth and Sports Ministry.

Hizbullah's sole representative in the new cabinet will be resigned Energy Minister Mohammad Fneish, who was tipped for the Labor Ministry. As for Sleiman's three-minister quota, news reports earlier said that the president had nominated caretaker Defense Minister Elias Murr to stay in his post, lawyer and legal expert Ziyad Baroud (interior), and businessman Talal el-Makdessi (minister of state).

Meanwhile, news reports on Monday and Tuesday said that Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt, the Lebanese Forces, and caretaker Public Works Minister Mohammad Safadi were at odds over who would get the public works portfolio in the new cabinet.

The reports said that Safadi wanted to stay in his post while Jumblatt wanted the portfolio to go to outgoing Information Minister Ghazi Aridi.

The Lebanese Forces were also reported to be among the contenders for the prized public works portfolio.

Geagea said earlier that his party would rather stay out of the cabinet than participate with a share that does not reflect its "popular representation."

A parliamentary majority source told the Central News Agency on Tuesday that Geagea had also tipped lawyer Ibrahim Najjar for the Justice Ministry.

The source said that the Lebanese Forces were likely to stay out of the cabinet unless given one of either the public works or justice portfolios.

Meanwhile, Jumblatt told Lebanese newspaper As-Safir on Tuesday that both the March 14 and March 8 coalitions were tipping "failed candidates" to take part in the government.

"People who failed to make it to Parliament in the last elections are being tipped to participate in the new cabinet," he said. "Moreover, people who have not seen any success in their professional careers were also tipped to participate in the national unity government."

But Jumblatt was careful to exclude Arslan from his criticism, saying that the former lawmaker had a special status within the Druze community.

Also on Tuesday, Safadi denied that he was planning to quit the March 14 coalition if not given the public works portfolio in the new cabinet.

"It is still not settled who would get the public works portfolio ... Anyway, such issues are being dealt with within the March 14 camp," Safadi said.

Meanwhile, March 14 lawmaker Butros Harb expressed his dismay with the continuing struggle over government shares and assrted that he was unwilling to take part in the new cabinet. - Additional reporting by Nafez Qawas

Sleiman may skip Paris if cabinet not in place

BEIRUT: President Michel Sleiman reportedly told his visitors on Tuesday that he was considering not participating in the Euro-Mediterranean summit, scheduled for Sunday in Paris, unless a national unity government was formed by that date.

Sleiman met Prime Minister designate Fouad Siniora on Tuesday and discussed with him the latest developments with respect to forming the new cabinet.

Also Tuesday, the president told a World Bank delegation that there was a need to pay attention to alternative agricultural products in the Bekaa Valley to combat the growing of cannabis.

Sleiman also said some citizens' resorting to smuggling to and from Syria was undermining the security situation.

Also Tuesday, Sleiman received the credentials of ambassadors from Belgium, Norway, the Netherlands, and Romania.