Report: Gov. Formation Facing New Complexities, LF Won't Relinquish Portfolios

The Lebanese Forces party said forming a new cabinet is facing complexities because shifting to form a cabinet of 30 ministers instead of 24 requires anew consultations, and stressed that they will not concede any ministerial portfolio in the new line-up agreement, al-Akhbar daily reported on Saturday.

“The formation of the cabinet is getting complicated,” Maarab sources told the daily on condition of anonymity.

“We are not against forming a cabinet of 30 ministers, but we technically oppose it for two reasons: first it will blow away the arrangement of 24 ministers, secondly it will bring the consultations back to square one which means that the efforts exerted by Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri have gone in vain,” added the sources.

On the difficulties facing the formation, the sources expressed astonishment at the insistence of Speaker Nabih Berri to have all the March 8 alliance parties represented in the cabinet. They said it would push the March 14 alliance to take similar steps and demand the representation of independent Shiite and Sunni figures, similar to former Minsters Ashraf Rifi, and Ibrahim Shamseddine and ex MP Mohammed Baydoun.

The sources concluded by saying that the LF will not make any concessions as for the ministerial portfolios to be allotted, “we won't let them withdraw any of the portfolios agreed upon.”

The formation process made major progress on Monday and Tuesday after the political parties reached a settlement over the thorny issue of the public works portfolio. Under the settlement, the Marada Movement will be given the public works portfolio while the Lebanese Forces will get the health portfolio.

But horsetrading resumed when plans changed and a suggestion to form a 30-member cabinet instead of 24 emerged. The disagreement lingers on the additional six state ministers and their distribution on the political parties.