Salam: Political Powers Don't Have the Intention to Facilitate Formation of Govt.
Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam stressed that he is seeking to form a government that includes all Lebanese factions, saying that he does not want to eliminate any side from power, reported the daily An Nahar Monday.
He told the daily however that the developments over the past few months “have demonstrated that the powers have no intention to facilitate the formation of the cabinet.”
“I will not take any action that will harm any Lebanese sect or political party,” he said.
“The new government may not please all sides, but it will not be directed against any party,” explained the premier-designate.
“In the end, we must assume our responsibilities and we must form a new government,” Salam stated.
“We are awaiting the right conditions in order to follow through with our mission,” he added.
Salam is seeking the formation of a 24-member cabinet in which the March 8, March 14 and centrists camps would each get eight ministers.
He is also rejecting granting veto power to any power, which the March 8 camp has been demanding.
The March 14 coalition is meanwhile calling for keeping Hizbullah out of the cabinet over its role in Syria's war.
over 10 years
Salam and peace be upon you Mr. Tammam. I am sure you have finally come to the conclusion after months of exhaustive research and consultations that it is M14 and the blue takfiris who are behind all obstacles to form a new government. We, the Shia of Ali Ibn Taleb want national unity with our brothers and sisters in Lebanon. We want veto power in order to protect the behind of the Islamic Iranian Resistance. Since we represent the sentiment of 99.99% of the free and honorable Lebanese, would that request be too much to ask? You be the judge of that. The resistance is busy now fighting terrorism in Syria and needs all the help internally. Hence, it is advocating calm and less sectarian rhetoric so it can focus on eradicating terror from this planet.
over 10 years
Brilliant! The most beautiful solutions are almost always the simplest! All the credit goes to the... well... umm... duh... lack of education and schooling? But then who needs these when you are blessed to follow a guru who knows not what the heck he is talking about, let alone what the heck he does? You go, Drs. Arteena Satleh. You give the word SIMPLE its true meaning.
over 10 years
@ banima3roof, I agree.
If Salam had balls, he would form his proposed Gov't and submit it for approval. If Parliament rejects it, he resigns.
@Kokash Bluzardo, you seem to be so smart and well informed. Answer this Einstein: what country in the world gives an elected President/Prime Minister an open-ended period to form a Gov't??
over 10 years
cleanleb:
"what country in the world gives an elected President/Prime Minister an open-ended period to form a Gov't??"
This is unacceptable, though the constitution dictates the opposite not it seems.
over 10 years
Considering that the political parties don't want to seem to get together in a government, and the refusal of Parliament Speaker, Mr. Berri, to reconvene to parliament, perhaps the only solution in Lebanon, is for the President to establish a government of bureaucrats, completely ignoring the bickering politicians.
Perhaps once they see that Lebanon can be governed properly as one unit, then they will finally realise that they have to sit down with each other and hammer out their differences.
It may take a week, a month, a year, or 10 years, but at least at the end of the process Lebanon will have a responsible unified government made up of its politicians.
over 10 years
@cleanleb What you're saying makes sense in theory (submitting a govt proposal, and resigning if it doesn't pass in parliament). However, in practice it could have dangerous consequences. What will happen in that case is that the Hizb will throw a fit. And I'm not talking about a tantrum like the ones Aoun does. I'm talking about a proper nasty violent reaction. The hizb will build on top of it's latest rhetoric following the bombing in Dahye and denounce a supposed conspiracy against it that needs to be addressed by taking to the street like it did in 2007. Given the already volatile situation, this will be disastrous. And I think Salam is aware of that and he doesn't want to lead the country down that path.
over 10 years
@871x12
I think what HA did in 2007 was wrong, and I think they know that as well. I also think that the conditions in 2007 as not the same as today. In 2006, M14 sided with Israel and conspired to delay the cease fire. They were ecstatic that HA was being bombed (along with Dahieh and the South). HA felt betrayed big time.
Also, one of the "surprises" that caught Israel off guard was HA's fiber optic infrastructure that is insulated from Israeli jamming/tapping.
To add insult to injury, in 2007 M14 (on request from Israel and US) "ordered" M14 to remove this fiber infrastructure which HA claimed is important for its defense against Israel.
over 10 years
Also, in 2007 M14 decided to overpower HA by removing Shia high-ranking officials from their positions (without consensus).
The above events led to the 2007 mistake (which should never happen again).
Today, the situation is different. Salam should choose a technocrat Gov't for Ministries that are related to services (Electricity, Telecomm...) and strengthen internal security and defense with Generals at Min of Interior and Defense. He (Salam) should handle the politics and communication with political parties (rather than having 30 ministers each coming out with a speech that serves his own political party and sect).
THIS SHOULD BE THE MAKE-UP OF EVERY GOVERNMENT.
over 10 years
ex-progma, you will be saddened to hear that some oil companies have pulled-out of searching for oil and development projects due to the lack of political stability and frustration due to a lack of government. The more the formation of the pertinent government body is postponed, the worse the future prospects in terms of investment and economic harmony. Salam should hurry it up a bit.
over 10 years
To the idiot above:
You should learn to write more than one and a half sentences and have more ideas with less insults. But I guess "insults" is all you know. That tells us a lot about your background.
Salaam and Suleiman are good men. They will probably end up paying for their positions (ie. Syria & Hezb will put a hit out on them) but these two men have constantly taken positions that are aimed at strengthening Lebanon. They are true patriots.