Preliminary Deal on Lineup Brings Hope of Cabinet Formation after Holidays

A preliminary agreement has been reached between the different parties of the March 8 forces amid hopes that more efforts would be exerted in the coming days despite Premier-designate Najib Miqati’s private visit to London.

Pan-Arab daily al-Hayat quoted March 8 leaders as saying in remarks published Thursday that consultations between Miqati and Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun through the mediation of Hizbullah led to a “semi-deal.”

Aoun, who has been bickering with President Michel Suleiman over the interior ministry, has agreed to get along with his allies the Marada movement and the Tashnag party 10 ministries, including one state minister, the sources said.

They told al-Hayat that Aoun hasn’t so far delivered Hizbullah the names of the ministers proposed by his Change and Reform bloc, saying he is conditioning agreement on distribution of shares before naming the ministers.

As for the interior ministry, agreement has been reached not to give the portfolio to Caretaker Interior Minister Ziad Baroud, who is backed by Suleiman, in return for not granting the ministry to an FPM official, the sources said.

However, high-ranking political sources told An Nahar newspaper that the deal consists of either keeping both Baroud and Caretaker Energy Minister Jebran Bassil, who is an FPM official, in the cabinet or providing them with a safe exit.

They said the interior ministry portfolio continued to be the main obstacle in the cabinet formation process.

Despite reports about the preliminary deal, the government would witness light only after the Easter holidays.