Hariri frustrated by ministerial portfolio demands
Joseph A. Kechichian/Gulf News/November 10/16
Beirut: Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri is engaged in traditional horse-trading negotiations with President Michel Aoun, Speaker Nabih Berri, and others, both to complete the formation of his national unity cabinet as well as satisfy a motley-crew anxious to reap benefits from their most recent political compromises.Local media sources revealed Hariri’s frustrations with the process, with some underscoring how unrealistic these demands were. Apparently, three specific portfolios complicated talks, and are delaying his wish to complete the task over the next 72 hours.
According to Al Jumhuriyyah daily, Hariri is emphasising the necessity to accept a turnover of several key posts, including finance, defence and foreign affairs, though the real fight is over the energy and telecommunications ministries because those are seen as financial goldmines to officeholders.For now, the prime minister-designate seemingly believes that a quick resolution of pending differences will help accomplish key issues and translate the oath of office into effective results. Towards that end, he sought and reportedly received pledges from both Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea and Progressive Socialist Party boss Walid Jumblatt, to facilitate his mission.The pro-Hezbollah daily Al Safir reported on Thursday that the Speaker insisted the finance ministry must remain with his Amal bloc, clarifying: “the Ta’if Accords stipulate that it should be part of the Shiite sect’s share on the basis that the finance minister’s signature on decrees is the only Shiite signature in the executive authority”.
Both of the Free Patriotic Movement and the LF expressed a desire to fill the finance post but were willing to negotiate alternatives that raised the ante. One of the alternatives put forward by the LF is to let Amal keep the Ministry of Finance in exchange for the Ministry of Defense, something that Hezbollah rejected. The Ministry of Interior is expected to remain with Hariri’s Future Movement.Hariri will now sort these opposing views and submit his list to President Aoun, whose first few days in office were preoccupied with a slew of protocol visits. Though the presidential election glow continues to permeate over Lebanon, few expect dramatic transformations in the near future, even if the October 31 coronation occurred only after Saad Hariri switched his backing from Suleiman Franjieh.
Hariri’s endorsement of Aoun unravelled Hezbollah’s obstructionist steps, and while the party declined to endorse the Future Movement leader for the premiership, it entrusted negotiations to Speaker Berri. He must now demonstrate patience to reach the next stages, and as important as the cabinet challenge is, the Prime Minister-designate must also winnow through the government’s policy statement, which will not only have to make a reference to Israel, but must also tackle the ongoing civil war in Syria, both of which are potential flashpoints with Hezbollah.
Lebanon’s wary citizens are anxious for Aoun and Hariri to succeed, and are awaiting a government that will tackle various challenges, including how to restart a stagnant economy.
In the past, the policy statement focused on key economic matters and included the wooden triptych of the “army-people-resistance” formula to defend the country, which the LF dismissed, although Aoun and Hariri (along with the LF that will now be entrusted a vital cabinet post) must reformulate to find the right balance. Will the triptych survive intact and, in the affirmative, will that bode well for Hariri’s anticipated national unity government?
Jumblat: Aoun is not Made in Lebanon President Thaer Abbas/Asharq Al Awsat/November 10/16
Beirut-Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat has urged the rival political parties to seize the “historic” opportunity that brought President Michel Aoun to power and work on the swift formation of a new government. “All parties should work swiftly on the cabinet lineup because the election of the president after more than two years of vacuum should be followed by the formation of the government,” Jumblat said. The PSP chief told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that the rivals would facilitate the cabinet formation if they stop insisting on certain shares. “We have to seize the historic opportunity,” he said. Jumblat also rejected claims made by some politicians that Aoun’s election late last month was a pure Lebanese decision. “Some are saying that the president was made in Lebanon but such remarks are not accurate,” he told the daily.
“There has never been a made in Lebanon president,” the lawmaker told Asharq Al-Awsat in an interview. “There was a sudden largescale international and regional consensus on the election of a president,” he said. Such a consensus means that the international community wants to distance Lebanon from the region’s wars, Jumblat added. When asked whether the presidential elections are aimed at temporarily preventing the collapse of the state, the Druze politician said: “We have never been on the verge of collapse.”
Asked about his share in the new cabinet, Jumblat told his interviewer that he hasn’t insisted on certain portfolios as part of his bloc’s share in the government but asked for a services ministry and left it for Aoun and PM-designate Saad Hariri to decide. “The share of the Druze sect in a 30-member cabinet will be three and I will have two representatives in it,” he said. The MP told Asharq Al-Awsat that the visit of Saudi Arabia’s Arab Gulf Affairs Minister Thamer al-Sabhan to Beirut last month was “very important because it gave positive signs” that Saudi Arabia is returning to play a constructive role in Lebanon by possibly allowing Saudi and Gulf tourists to return to Lebanon and backing the country financially.
Jumblat denied that the Lebanese parliament’s term would be extended again. “If there is a need for an extension, then it would be a short technical extension. There is no way out of the parliamentary elections,” he said. The PSP leader advised politicians to liberate themselves from the March 8 and 14 alliances. “We can no longer keep ourselves captive to the March 8 and 14 equation,” he said. “This division is over. Centrism is over too.”Asked about the new equation, Jumblat said politicians should no longer line up along different camps. “We should instead focus on supporting the army and security institutions, and the economy,” he said. “Political line-ups became obsolete when we all voted for Aoun” as president, he added. Jumblat also stressed that it is currently “not necessary to convince Hezbollah” to stop sending fighters to Syria in support of Bashar Al-Assad.
“This is an Iranian-regional issue,” he said. “Let’s forget that Hezbollah is in Syria and deal with Lebanon’s affairs. There are matters that are more important than Hezbollah’s presence” in the neighboring country, Jumblat added.
