Hariri Proposes "Fait Accompli" Cabinet on 15-10-5 FormulaHussein Assi
07/09/2009 More than seventy day on his appointment as Prime Minister-Designate, MP Saad Hariri decided to throw the ball in the court of the President…
Hariri, who found himself unable to form a "partnership" cabinet that fulfills the "multiple" demands of his so-called "allies" and, at the same time, satisfies his "rivals," resorted to his own "logic" to "draw" a cabinet formula…
Thus, and after seventy days of "intensive" consultations, that seemed to be "formal" more than "practical," the Prime Minister-Designate took his decision…
Hariri, unable to proceed with the same strategy of stalling awaiting the "miracle" to happen, found no option other than "imposing" a "fait accompli" cabinet that respects the agreed formula but does not provide the Free Patriotic Movement of MP Michel Aoun the full "rights" it's requesting…
So, Hariri announced on Monday that he presented a 30-member Cabinet lineup to President Michel Sleiman, who promised to study it. "I presented President Michel Sleiman a national unity cabinet lineup of 30 ministers based on the 15-10-5 formula," Hariri said following talks with Sleiman in his summer residence in Beiteddine.
According to the PM-Designate, the formula takes into consideration the sectarian balance in the country and respects the results of the June 7 parliamentary elections. It is also based on a new "principle": the "rotation" of portfolios.
The Opposition immediately rejected the "suspicious" move, particularly since the latest meeting between Hariri and Telecommunications Minister Gebran Bassil did not produce any radical changes.
A senior opposition source told Reuters that the opposition will not deal with this proposal because it knows nothing about it. "As far as we are concerned, it does not exist and we will have nothing to do with it," the source said.
07/09/2009 As expected, Lebanon's Prime Minister-Designate's move to declare a "fait accompli" cabinet formula couldn't pass without repercussions…
The national opposition, present in the formula according to Hariri's preferences and not its own ones, was the first to reject the "offer" recalling that it was open since the first day to talks and consultations that yield to real and effective "partnership," not an "imposed" one…
In this context, a senior opposition source told Reuters news agency that the opposition will not deal with this proposal because it knows nothing about it. "As far as we are concerned, it does not exist and we will have nothing to do with it," the source said.
Meanwhile, the head of the Change and Reform parliamentary bloc MP Michel Aoun was the first to comment, ending a "private vacation" he has started one week ago. Speaking to Al-Mada radio station, Aoun accused Hariri of not willing to form a cabinet and for changing the formula according to his mood.
Aoun rejected all attempts to change democratic norms and principles, adding that the rotation of portfolios cannot happen according to the mood of the PM-Designate. "If Hariri wants to create new traditions, he can seek to find other partners to form the cabinet with them," he said. "In all cases, we call on all the Change and Reform ministers who would be appointed to resign immediately," he added.
However, the General expressed belief that President Michel Sleiman wouldn't sign the decree of such a cabinet.
Earlier, Telecommunications Minister in Fouad Saniora's caretaker government Gebran Bassil accused Hariri of violating the Free Free Patriotic Movement's rights and politically persecuting it. "We are being politically persecuted under the slogan of stretched hand," Bassil said following talks with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in Ain el-Tineh. "The FPM and the Change and Reform bloc are being politically targeted," he said, warning at the same time that the Opposition is "united and watchful."
Bassil had also accused Hariri of trying to form a Cabinet "by means of blackmail and pressure." Hariri "is practicing pressure in an attempt to impose terms of surrender and succumb to sectarian violence," Bassil told Lebanese daily As-Safir on Monday following a "tense" meeting with Hariri late Sunday. "This means that he (Hariri) wants to form a government by means of pressure and blackmail all the way to threats of civil war," Bassil said. He said Hariri is operating within a "specific equation -- either you accept his terms, or woe and destruction would prevail."
A high-ranking Opposition official quoted by Lebanese daily As-Safir newspaper cautioned, however, that if Hariri's new Cabinet lineup turned out to be uncoordinated with the other side, "then this means he would be driving the country deeper into the crisis, already more than two months into the stalemate."
Opposition sources hinted that Hariri's move could leave Lebanon without a government. They said the premier-designate's measure was a "step backward" and warned that it could lead to a "major crisis" with the Opposition.
The national opposition, present in the formula according to Hariri's preferences and not its own ones, was the first to reject the "offer" recalling that it was open since the first day to talks and consultations that yield to real and effective "partnership," not an "imposed" one…
In this context, a senior opposition source told Reuters news agency that the opposition will not deal with this proposal because it knows nothing about it. "As far as we are concerned, it does not exist and we will have nothing to do with it," the source said.
Meanwhile, the head of the Change and Reform parliamentary bloc MP Michel Aoun was the first to comment, ending a "private vacation" he has started one week ago. Speaking to Al-Mada radio station, Aoun accused Hariri of not willing to form a cabinet and for changing the formula according to his mood.
Aoun rejected all attempts to change democratic norms and principles, adding that the rotation of portfolios cannot happen according to the mood of the PM-Designate. "If Hariri wants to create new traditions, he can seek to find other partners to form the cabinet with them," he said. "In all cases, we call on all the Change and Reform ministers who would be appointed to resign immediately," he added.
However, the General expressed belief that President Michel Sleiman wouldn't sign the decree of such a cabinet.
Earlier, Telecommunications Minister in Fouad Saniora's caretaker government Gebran Bassil accused Hariri of violating the Free Free Patriotic Movement's rights and politically persecuting it. "We are being politically persecuted under the slogan of stretched hand," Bassil said following talks with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in Ain el-Tineh. "The FPM and the Change and Reform bloc are being politically targeted," he said, warning at the same time that the Opposition is "united and watchful."
Bassil had also accused Hariri of trying to form a Cabinet "by means of blackmail and pressure." Hariri "is practicing pressure in an attempt to impose terms of surrender and succumb to sectarian violence," Bassil told Lebanese daily As-Safir on Monday following a "tense" meeting with Hariri late Sunday. "This means that he (Hariri) wants to form a government by means of pressure and blackmail all the way to threats of civil war," Bassil said. He said Hariri is operating within a "specific equation -- either you accept his terms, or woe and destruction would prevail."
A high-ranking Opposition official quoted by Lebanese daily As-Safir newspaper cautioned, however, that if Hariri's new Cabinet lineup turned out to be uncoordinated with the other side, "then this means he would be driving the country deeper into the crisis, already more than two months into the stalemate."
Opposition sources hinted that Hariri's move could leave Lebanon without a government. They said the premier-designate's measure was a "step backward" and warned that it could lead to a "major crisis" with the Opposition.
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