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Prominent Lebanese politician Walid Jumblatt appears in a Reuters file. reuters_tickers
This content was published on Dec 10, 2020 – Jul 10: 37
BEIRUT (Reuters) – A prominent Lebanese politician, Walid Jumblatt, said on Thursday that it appears “white smoke will not come soon”, marking the formation of a new government, in a sign of the worsening crisis after the Prime Minister-designate will present the government formation proposal.
Four months after the recent resignation of the Lebanese government following the bomb attack in the port of Beirut on August 4, the main parties have been unable to agree on a government even as the country plunges into a serious financial crisis.
Saad Hariri, who in October was tasked with forming the new government, gave President Michel Aoun his cabinet line-up on Wednesday, saying the atmosphere was positive.
Aoun’s office said the two agreed to try to “address the differences” between their proposals.
“It appears that the white smoke around the government will not be released anytime soon as a result of further trials to adopt the best vaccine to treat the crisis,” Druze leader Jumblatt wrote on Twitter, referring to the ritual release of white smoke when electing a new pope. .
The financial crisis reached its climax last year as a result of decades of corruption and mismanagement. The World Bank has warned that poverty will affect more than half the population by 2021.
Important decisions were shelved in light of political paralysis, especially regarding the subsidy of basic products, including fuel, which are imported using the central bank’s dwindling foreign exchange reserves.
The stalemate has also hampered a French initiative aimed at tackling the crisis. President Emmanuel Macron is scheduled to visit Lebanon this month, his third visit since the port explosion.
A senior political source said that most parties were not satisfied with the formation presented by Hariri, but their complaints “were limited to a specific name or portfolio.”
“This is not a difficult thing to overcome,” he added.
(Press Coverage of Tom Perry – Prepared by Lilian Wagdy for Arabic Publication – Edited by Amal Abu Al-Saud)
