Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam was Wednesday putting the “final touches” on his cabinet lineup, amid reports that he might wait for some time before announcing it.

Salam discussed a draft lineup with President Michel Suleiman during a meeting in Baabda in the evening, according to al-Jadeed television.

Visiting Italian Foreign Minister Emma Bonino kicked off an official tour on senior Lebanese officials on Wednesday to discuss the bilateral ties between the two countries and the latest developments locally and in the region.

Bonino held talks with her Lebanese counterpart Adnan Mansour at the Bustros Palace.

Premier-designate Tammam Salam is expected on Wednesday to make small changes to the government line-up that he will likely announce this week despite a scenario of boycott by Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun.

After the last-minute check-up on the names and portfolios, Salam is expected to head to Baabda Palace to propose it to President Michel Suleiman.

Hizbullah, AMAL movement and the Progressive Socialist Party are mulling the possible means to safeguard the upcoming cabinet whereby any presumed resignation by the Free Patriotic Movement ministers wouldn't turn it into a caretaker government.

According to As Safir newspaper published on Wednesday, the three parties are seeking to guard the upcoming cabinet amid the delicate situation in the country and the region, stressing that if Hizbullah voiced solidarity with any possible resignation by the FPM ministers then the allies wouldn't have to necessarily take the same stance and sacrifice the cabinet.

President Michel Suleiman hoped that he will be able to end his term as president in spring and hand over power to a new president, he told the General Security magazine in an interview published by the National News Agency on Tuesday.

He added: “Forcing a lack of quorum at parliament in order to obstruct the presidential elections is undemocratic.”

A two-hour meeting held between President Michel Suleiman and Premier-designate Tammam Salam on Monday signaled that the formation of the new government was imminent despite the alleged insistence of the Free Patriotic Movement to hold onto the energy and telecommunications portfolios.

Suleiman and Salam discussed the ministerial portfolios and ways to choose the names of new ministers in a 24-member cabinet based on the 8-8-8 formula, media reports said Tuesday.

President Michel Suleiman stated that a new round of consultations to form a government kicked off on Monday, hinting that a new cabinet may be formed in the next two days.

He added: “Lebanon can no longer remain without a government given the difficult circumstances it is passing through.”

Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji returned on Monday from a visit to Saudi Arabia that tackled the kingdom's military grant to Lebanon.

He said of the recent developments in Lebanon: “The strange incidents are a passing phase that we will overcome.”

President Michel Suleiman on Sunday stressed that “it is necessary to put the national interest above all else and resort to the dialogue approach,” urging the Lebanese to “draw lessons from what's happening around them.”

“Political leaders in particular must pay attention to the risks and threats the country is facing and must therefore act according to the national interest,” Suleiman said in a statement.

The latest efforts to form a new government have resulted in the proposal to distribute the four sovereign portfolios equally between the March 8 and 14 camps, reported An Nahar daily on Saturday.

It said that the March 8 camp will be granted the foreign and finance ministries, while the March 14 camp will be granted the defense and interior ministries.