[ad_1]
Beirut – There are only a few days left behind the deadline set by France to complete the formation of a new Lebanese government, while the vision on its nature and composition is still unclear.
Prime Minister-designate Mustafa Adib met with President Michel Aoun at the Baabda Palace on Tuesday afternoon to present his insight, amid talks about the pressures being exposed to form a broad government Adeeb reserves.
Unlike the days before, the prime minister-designate seemed pessimistic after leaving the Baabda meeting and was content to tell reporters: “We are at the stage of consulting with President Aoun, and God willing, fine.”
Political circles said that a number of controversial points were discussed at the meeting, including the number of ministers in the next government, as Adib insists that the number should not exceed 14 ministers, while the President of the Republic and his political team insist on 24 ministers.
The departments indicated that Adeeb had previously met with representatives of the Shiite duo (Amal Movement and Hezbollah), namely Minister Ali Hassan Khalil and the political aide in Hezbollah Hussein al-Khalil, and the two asked Adeeb to leave the idea of a mini government on the pretext that this would lead to each minister getting two bags and more. This poses a big problem at the level of government representation.
The departments pointed out that the meeting between Adib and Aoun did not resolve this point in dispute, as well as the issue of the nature of the government, as the designated Prime Minister adopts the option of forming a government of independent specialists, and this issue is rejected by Aoun , the Free Patriotic Movement and Hezbollah, for holding on to a government in the form of the current interim government, that is, the author. Who are technocrats called political forces.
It is feared that these differences will lead to a repetition of the scenario of the formation of previous governments, which continued for weeks and months before they saw the light.
The new Lebanese government is supposed to be formed early next week according to the political map presented by France, and that the prime minister-designate will have the upper hand in its formation, which is supposed to be agreed between the Lebanese political forces and President Emmanuel Macron. .
The aim of the French roadmap is to open the way for the heavily indebted Lebanon to receive billions of dollars in needed aid so that it can get back on its feet.
Lebanon received none of the aid that was first promised at an international conference in 2018, because previous governments never implemented the promised reforms.
The issue requires the prime minister-designate to be ready to form the government early next week in order to stay on track, but things do not appear to be heading towards the desired goal.
Deputy Qasim Hashem, a member of the “Development and Liberation” bloc affiliated with the Shiite Amal movement, previously said: “Nothing can be said on the government horizon except that contacts and consultations continue at all levels, and that the number weighted ministers is 24, otherwise it cannot be confirmed. ” Something. “
Some Lebanese fear that Hezbollah and its allies are taking advantage of the US “pardon” period in light of Washington’s concern over the presidential elections, to impose a government similar to the resigned Hassan Diab government. This issue not only means reinforcing the international isolation in Lebanon, but it will also strengthen the state of Instability in the country.
And the largest Sunni religious leader in Lebanon warned on Tuesday that the country is sliding into a cycle of violence after a deadly shooting in Beirut, stoking fears that the security situation will deteriorate in light of the severe economic crisis. .
The current crisis is considered the greatest threat to Lebanon’s stability since the 1975-1990 civil war.
One person was killed and two injured in the clash that occurred on Monday night in the Tarik al-Jadida neighborhood, which is inhabited by a mostly Sunni city in Beirut and is one of the strongholds of Future Movement leader Saad al-Hariri . The army said machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades were used in the confrontation, which according to a military source began in the form of a personal conflict between individuals.
A shooting broke out early Monday in a region of northern Lebanon, prompting the army to intervene. In another incident in Baalbek, in the Bekaa Valley, a man was killed in a revenge-motivated murder, according to the National Information Agency.
The military source said that these incidents, along with other acts of sectarian violence that occurred last month, reflect a breakdown of state authority. “The link is to break the prestige of the state. The link is that what remained (did not remain) regarding the state and its prestige, individual incidents abound yesterday in the north … in Baalbek as well ”.
After his meeting with the Minister of the Interior in the interim government, Brigadier General Mohamed Fahmy, the Mufti of Lebanon, Sheikh Abd al-Latif Derian, called on citizens to “become aware, wise and not be carried away by seditions , and that any dispute is not resolved with weapons but with dialogue and a kind word that calms souls, relaxes hearts and reaches a safe haven. “
The suffering of Lebanon, which has a population of six million, is compounded by the economic crisis caused by government corruption and mismanagement over the years, which led to the collapse of the currency, the sharp rise in the unemployment rate and the fall of many people into poverty.
Lebanon’s economic and social crisis worsened after the devastating explosion in Beirut on August 4, which killed dozens and displaced thousands, in addition to causing extensive damage to the infrastructure of the Lebanese capital.
