The government formation appeared imminent on Thursday amid a flurry of visitors to Baabda’s Presidential Palace.
Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam visited Baabda, where he met with President Joseph Aoun. Shortly after, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri joined them for a trilateral meeting. Meanwhile, government secretary-general Mahmoud Makkiyeh also headed to Baabda after being asked to join.
These developments suggested that an agreement has been reached on the formation of the government, which was expected to be announced.
After more than an hour and a half of discussions, Berri left the palace discreetly, away from the journalists' watch, followed shortly by Nawaf Salam, who refrained from making any comment to the press.
According to the National News Agency (ANI), Salam simply said, "Some things worked while others didn’t."
Seemingly, the issue surrounding the appointment of the fifth Shiite minister remains unresolved. It had been agreed that Aoun and Salam would select that specific Shiite minister. In return, the Ministry of Finance would be assigned to former MP Yassine Jaber, in line with Berri’s wishes.
Diplomatic sources reportedly told MTV that the main point of disagreement during the meeting was the “attempt to exclude Hezbollah from the government in a subtle way.”
According to Al-Jadeed TV station, Salam recommended Lamia Moubayed for the Ministry of Administrative Development, a suggestion rejected by the parliament speaker.
Given these circumstances, no agreement was reached, and the formation of the government remains stalled.
Comments