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Consequently, no new movement to form a government was recorded, following the off-the-record talk about Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri’s visit to President Michel Aoun yesterday, away from the media. While there were many leaks from many sides, according to which the ball was in Hariri’s court after the positions declared by most of the parties, and after information about the French discontent with the delay in the formation of the government and the threatens to halt all forms of support to Lebanon, including postponement or cancellation of the donor conference to be invited by France. Hariri may soon present a government draft to the President of the Republic.
While the anticipated people remain waiting for the anticipation, waiting for the step that the designated president will take in the face of the obstruction of authorship in the coming days, his intention to hold a press conference today on the matter was known at night, but his media adviser, Hussein Al-Wajh, was quick to deny it, in exchange for confirmation from circles informed of the presidential environment. The culprit is that he still stands firm with the rope of silence “until God decides what has been done.”
Cement wall
Thus, it became clear that the formation of the government collides with what is described as a “concrete wall” proposed by Baabda and with the Free Patriotic Movement, given the option that Prime Minister Saad Hariri will adopt when addressing the process of shaping a “important ministry” that emulates the French initiative. According to the information of the “Major General”, the president-designate will not do it. He takes what Bassil proposes in terms of repudiating a government of specialists and his insistence (that is, Basil) in appointing all Christian ministers, not just ministers of the current or powerful block of Lebanon.
Consequently, attention is turned to Hariri’s next step, and will he initiate a consensus with Aoun on the formation, or will he present a draft of it and await Aoun’s response, to be based on the matter?
Informed political sources explained to Al-Liwaa that the gap in the government file is required of the president in charge of forming the government in terms of adopting the unit of standards in composition within the national consultation with all the blocs, while it is It is necessary to know where the rotation limits are and if it is a sectarian or political movement and a number Ministers and portfolios, so as not to overload the ministers in the government of mission and distribution, that is, lowering the names according to the Republic President.
And I noticed that the president-designate must make promises and new promises, and I asked him what about naming Hezbollah that does not revolve around him, what are the American conditions that have been set and how to simulate the French initiative, and I pointed out that no you need to keep doing business indefinitely, and there are benefits and aid programs. Wait and the country cannot afford a vacuum in procedural power.
I reiterated that the violation is with the designated president, and when that happens, the authorship process advances according to what is required and is associated with the initiative of the President of the Republic to compose.
And he understood that the secret meeting between Aoun and Hariri, which was held unannounced, did not bring with it any rapid development in composition.
Perhaps what has prevented observers recently is the reluctance of those directly involved in the path of government formation, namely the President of the Republic, Michel Aoun, and Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri, from highlighting their meetings. and hiding even the news of the last meeting that took place between them the day before yesterday in the Baabda Palace, thus revealing the widening gap. In the course of authorship instead of addressing the complexities of settlements and solutions. The data available yesterday in this context confirmed that the composition of the government is in a vicious circle, making it difficult to anticipate an imminent solution in the spiral of complexities and intransigent positions. The recent political movement was included in the framework of Prime Minister Hariri’s continuing efforts to reach a conclusion based on the pillars he had established since his tenure to form a “major government” that includes 18 ministers with specializations that are not subject to to the political decision without closing the door to discuss the proposed names with all the political components. These data confirm that Hariri, whose media adviser Hussein Al-Wajh denied last night that any press conference is on his agenda today, continues to hold his position on the pillars of this government after having gone a long way in discussing it with him. President of the Republic, and that he will not back down on the basis that only the criteria that make up the next government will be able to stop the collapse and implement the necessary reforms.
End of the year?
But fears mount that the authorship crisis will extend beyond this month and perhaps into next month as well if the authorship crisis and chains of manufacturing conditions and complications are shown to be linked to regional dimensions that are no longer hidden. for anyone, given that the country is reeling strongly before an abyss of crises and collapses that press with great force. It seems that the differences between Aoun and Hariri have not yet approached any common denominator, at least after the gap widened notably following the imposition of US sanctions on the leader of the “Free Patriotic Movement”, MP Gebran Bassil, and to fabricate accusations against Hariri that he kept up with the American climate in some aspects of his proposals to form a government. . In this particular context, informed sources said yesterday that the last secret meeting between Aoun and Hariri did not lead to anything new, indicating that the discussion is limited, as always, according to the same sources, with Christian names without reference to the names of ministers of Islamic sects, whether Shiite or Sunni. Or Druze. And just as political parties have reported that they seek to restrict Hariri in the course of membership on their own terms, the same sources speak of “external restrictions imposed on specific portfolios such as money, jobs, energy and communications, and related to exclusion. of certain parties of direct and indirect ministries “.
Sources confirmed to “Nidaa Al Watan” that all political parties treat this reality in secret and are blind to it in public … And on the question “What happens after the end of the Michel Aoun era?” The government battering rams continue and the “existential conflict” is unleashed in the anticipated formation of the cabinet, so that the obstacles, obstacles and mutual conditions ramify on the desk, expressing their belief that each one of the demands that have been interposed on the way up to the moment before the birth of the government is hardly separated from the obsession with the presidential vacancy, either for natural reasons. In the event that the president suffers something bad, or for constitutional reasons, with the end of his term without the election of a successor.
External pressures
Yesterday, the US ambassador increased her level of pressure on Hariri, saying that her country “wants to prevent the failure of the state in Lebanon, and this matter should be the top priority, but we really cannot want that more than they want.” . At the same time, he confirmed, as reported by the agency “Reuters”, that “there are no rescue plans for Lebanon without reforms”, adding: “We have gained experience. There will be a step-by-step approach, and nothing is free.” Donors must stand their ground, Xia said. Otherwise, the political elite will not take them seriously. He added: “If they don’t feel the importance of the time factor to form a government, how are we going to continue to pressure them? They look at us and their tongue says:” Try to get us to implement reforms, it will be interesting to see them try that. “
Shia’s words seem to repeat the position of his secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, who announced on his visit to Lebanon in March 2019, and set it as a single objective, which is to attack and isolate Hezbollah. Since then, the Americans have camouflaged the goal of removing Hezbollah from government with the words “reforms.” Pompeo repeated this more than once this year.
According to Al-Akhbar, it is clear that the French side is complying with the Americans in its policies, through the two parties agreeing to take responsibility for delaying the formation of the Bassil government, saying that it is the obstacle that prevents the formation of the government see the light.
On the other hand, Russia called on Hariri to negotiate with all parliamentary blocs, without excluding any party, even those who did not name him during the parliamentary consultations that took place in the Baabda Palace. According to sources familiar with the diplomatic communication between the Russian side and the Lebanese parties, Moscow is pressing for “the start of a comprehensive Lebanese national dialogue without foreign interference, so that this contributes to the formation of the expected government as soon as possible.” The Russian invitation to Hariri, in consultation with the various parties represented in Parliament, particularly concerns the head of the Free Patriotic Movement, Gebran Bassil. Al-Akhbar learned that “Russian communication with Hariri and Bassil continues to move in this direction”, noting that the Russian ambassador, Alexander Rudakov, is active in terms of protocol and political visits that include various political, partisan and religious references. in Beirut, based on “Russia’s enthusiasm for maintaining a historic friendship. With Lebanon in all its spectra, even with those who do not agree with Moscow on their positions with them and do not share the same vision with them on political expedients And based on what Rudakov derived from his travels, he provided his country’s Foreign Ministry with “detailed reports on the results of his tour, most of which included a positive evaluation, which can be interpreted as a Lebanese response to the Russian proposal. “
In parallel, informed sources told Al-Akhbar that the visit of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to Lebanon was not canceled from the agenda, but was postponed pending the availability of appropriate conditions. Sources believe that the formation of the expected government will be a decisive factor in determining the date of the Russian foreign minister’s visit. Based on the contacts exchanged between the Russian Foreign Ministry and some Lebanese parties related to the course of government formation, informed circles believe that “the question of authorship after an agreement on names is possible before year-end. Therefore, Lavrov’s visit is also possible before the end of the year. “
In addition, the political center yesterday received a new message from the UN urging to form a government quickly and took on the message of the United Nations Special Coordinator in Lebanon, Jan Kubis, who announced that he had informed the Security Council about the situation in the Lebanon, “gathering support for the country and its people who are suffering a worsening existential crisis.” . He added in a tweet: “In return, a clear message from the Security Council to Lebanon’s leaders: create a government without further delay, an effective government that is capable of reform and change, a government that works against corruption and for the justice, transparency and accountability. Will they listen? ”
