From a media source, it is announced that a meeting between the President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun and Prime Minister designate Saad Hariri could take place tomorrow. It should be preceded by a meeting between the Speaker of the House Nabih Berri and Saad Hariri.
However, the chances of an announcement of a next government are slim, observers note. As a reminder, Lebanon has been without a functional cabinet since the resignation of the Hassan Diab cabinet on August 10, while the deterioration of social and economic conditions continue and the parity of the Lebanese pound against the dollar continues to fall.
In case of refusal of the presidency of the republic, the resignation of Saad Hariri would even now be on the table, announce relatives of the latter who would have already communicated this decision to the highest Sunni religious body, Deir el Fatwa and to former prime ministers.
Some sources indicate that the prime minister-designate could present a list of a 24-member cabinet as early as tomorrow. However, no details on the mechanism put in place for the appointments of the various ministers have been made public, while the controversy between the Presidency of the Republic and the Prime Minister-designate still concerns the appointment of 2 Christian ministers that he wishes to obtain. Saad Hariri and the attribution of the ministries of justice and the interior that the head of state would like to obtain.
The controversy escalated further last week, with the Future Current blaming the Free Patriotic Current for the failure of the current government process, accusing it of wanting to obtain a blocking third party. It was further widened after the Maronite patriarchate – which until then supported Saad Hariri – considered that the formula of 24 members contradicted the National Pact, something already underlined by the Presidency of the Republic. Indeed, instead of a government composed equally between Christian and Muslim communities, a third of the government would then be appointed by the Sunni prime minister, a third by the Shiite duo and only a third by the presidency of the republic.
