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BEIRUT: Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati Tuesday struck an upbeat note on the formation of a new Cabinet, citing identical views with President Michel Aoun on a solution to the political deadlock that for nearly a year has left crises-hit Lebanon without a fully functioning government.
Mikati met with Aoun to brief him on the outcome of his non-binding consultations earlier in the day with parliamentary blocs and independent MPs in Parliament to sound out their views on the size, shape and makeup of the new Cabinet.
I stressed the importance of forming the government as soon as possible, Mikati told reporters after his meeting with Aoun at Baabda Palace, a day after his appointment with a parliamentary majority as Lebanons new prime minister.
Views are very identical and we will hold successive meetings in the next two or three days. God willing, we will have a government soon, he said before rushing, refusing to take journalists questions.
Although Mikati was seen carrying an envelope, it was not immediately clear whether he presented the president with a draft Cabinet lineup.
The two leaders discussed details concerning the shape and size of the new Cabinet, an official source familiar with the matter told The Daily Star.
Shortly before he met with Aoun, Mikati said all parliamentary blocs were united in calling for the speedy formation of a government to enact reforms and avert the countrys total economic collapse.
Mikati made the announcement after meeting with parliamentary blocs and independent MPs in Parliament to sound out their views on the new Cabinet.
I listened today to the views of the MPs and their future visions. There was unanimity from all blocs and MPs on the need to speed up the formation of the new government in the hope of restoring the role of the state that has been absent for a long time, Mikati told reporters in Parliament after four hours of non-binding consultations with various blocs and independent MPs.
After this long day with MPs and blocs, I will inform his excellency the president on the results and the maximum need to accelerate the government formation, he said, adding that he will frequently visit the presidential palace in Baabda to exchange views with Aoun in order to reach the government formation as soon as possible.
The billionaire politician, already twice a prime minister, was designated Monday, less than two weeks after Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri stepped down after Aoun rejected his proposed Cabinet lineup of 24 nonpartisan specialists to implement a string of reforms contained in the French initiative designed to lift Lebanon out of its crippling economic and financial crunch, the worst since the 1975-90 Civil War.
The non-binding consultations with the parliamentary blocs are the customary official step that follows a new prime minister's designation but the high-stakes horse-trading has yet to begin.
Mikati kicked off a round of these consultations Monday night by paying traditional visits to Hariri and former premiers Tammam Salam and Fouad Siniora and caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab. He also spoke by telephone with former premier Salim al-Hoss to inquire about his health.
Mikati, the third politician in a year to attempt to form a government, promised to form a government of experts, in line with a French road map conditioning a huge aid package on reform and transparency.
Mikati said his government would work to ensure a decent life for the Lebanese, who are suffering from severe fuel, medicine and electricity shortages as a result of the breakdown of essential public services and an unprecedented economic meltdown that is hitting the Lebanese hard and threatening them with hunger and poverty.
In an interview with An-Nahar newspaper, Mikati vowed his Cabinet lineup would be "purely technical" and tasked with bridging the gap to elections due next year.
Following their meeting with Mikati, MP Mohammad Raad, head of Hezbollahs 13-member parliamentary bloc, said his party was ready to "seriously cooperate" with the new PM-designate.
"What is required is a speedy Cabinet formation and cooperation from all parties toward that end," Raad told reporters. We did not make a special request for our bloc. We demanded that the Cabinet be made up of specialists in the field of public social life.
MP Gebran Bassil, head of the Free Patriotic Movement, accused by Hariri and Future Movement officials of repeatedly obstructing efforts to form a new government, said the FPMs parliamentary Strong Lebanon bloc has decided "not to participate in the next Cabinet, which means we will not get involved in the formation process".
In a joint statement, the Hezbollah and Amal Movement commands said the quick formation of a government is essential to halt the collapse and begin tackling the living problems.
Lebanon has been without a fully functioning government for nearly a year after Diab submitted his Cabinets resignation on Aug. 10 in the aftermath of last years massive explosion that pulverized Beirut Port, killed 210 people, wounded thousands and damaged entire neighborhoods in the capital.
In addition to implementing essential reforms, the new government would be tasked with restarting negotiations with the International Monetary Fund on a bailout package and supervising next year's parliamentary elections.
Mikatis designation with a parliamentary majority to form a new government was marred by a boycott of the two main Christian parties: the FPM and the Lebanese Forces. This is in addition to the Kataeb Party, whose three MPs resigned from Parliament last year over the port blast.
In addition to gaining support from former premiers, Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdel-Latif Derian blessed Mikatis nomination to form a new government and called on political forces to cooperate with the premier-designate to facilitate the formation.
Dar al-Fatwa supports anything that saves Lebanon from its political, social and economic crisis so that it can reflect positively on the interests and the daily needs of the people and stop their sufferings, Derian said in a statement.
Noting that Mikati is a natural member of the Higher Islamic Religious Council, the mufti praised the premier-designate as a statesman and a man of institutions who hopefully can put an end to the collapse from which Lebanon and the Lebanese are suffering.
Derian hoped that a new government to be committed to the National Accord Document, the 1989 Taif Accord, would be formed as soon as possible.
Mikatis appointment and Hariris decision to step down came at a time of mounting local, regional and international pressures on rival Lebanese leaders to agree on the quick formation of a new government to rescue Lebanon, which is in the throes of a severe economic and financial crisis, described by the World Bank as one of the worlds worst since the 1850s, posing the gravest threat to its stability since the Civil War.
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