Miqati Says No Cabinet Before Exerting All Efforts to Include March 14 in it

Prime Minister designate Najib Miqati has stressed he won’t form a cabinet before exerting all efforts to include March 14 members in the new government.

In remarks to An Nahar daily published Sunday, Miqati said he would form a technocrat government that would include independent political figures with good ties with all sides if al-Mustaqbal bloc and the rest of the March 14 forces refuse to participate in the cabinet.

“What brings the Lebanese closer is much more than what draws them apart,” the billionaire businessman said.

In other remarks to pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat, Miqati said he informed President Michel Suleiman on Saturday about his keenness to form a government that includes all political forces “to salvage the country and confront the challenges that it is facing with the maximum level possible of internal unity.”

Miqati on Saturday briefed the president on his consultations with parliamentary blocs on forming a new government.

He reiterated to Asharq al-Awsat that he hasn’t made any commitments on the international tribunal. Miqati said that the key to the “controversial issue” is not only with him but with all political parties.

The problem should be solved through dialogue among Lebanese parties and with Arab help, he stressed.