No Cabinet Before Holidays as Discussions Reportedly Focus on Rotation of Key Ministries

Hopes for the formation of a new government before Easter dissipated after Premier-designate Najib Miqati’s circles said that consultations on the cabinet would reach a standstill during the holidays.

While confirming that involved parties are discussing new ideas on how to solve the deadlock, the circles told An Nahar newspaper that contacts are still at their early stages and no final results could be reached soon.

Miqati’s private visit to London at the end of the week further confirms that the cabinet won’t be formed anytime soon, As Safir daily quoted informed sources as saying.

Caretaker Minister Jebran Bassil told the newspaper that his meeting with Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah was part of efforts aimed at solving what he said were several obstacles hindering the formation of the government.

“There are a lot of problems and are not only caused by one party,” Bassil said, adding that the main obstacles were linked to the shares, distribution of portfolios, the representation of the former Sunni opposition and the interior ministry.”

The Free Patriotic Movement official hoped, however, that the results of his contacts would begin appearing within a few days.

As Safir said that among proposals to break the impasse was the rotation of key ministries among the country’s major sects. March 8 sources also told An Nahar that the latest consultations between the different parties involved focused on the redistribution of the major portfolios.

They said that the talks could either lead to “surprising positive results in the next few hours or a return to the political vacuum.”