Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun announced on Saturday that President Michel Suleiman “does not have the right to demand any government portfolio because he was elected as a neutral figure … which is a joke as there is no such thing in any country.

He added that the president does not even have a share in parliament.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said on Saturday that the main parties involved in the cabinet formation, especially Hizbullah and Syria, want a confrontational government.

“Hizbullah and Syria are heading towards a confrontational cabinet, while President Michel Suleiman and Premier-designate Najib Miqati want a cabinet that is closest possible to the Lebanese reality,” Geagea told Free Lebanon radio.

High-ranking March 8 sources refuted claims that the cabinet formation process has gone back to the starting point over crippling demands by the new parliamentary majority.

The sources told An Nahar newspaper in remarks published Saturday that the media and political sources began inventing rumors about an alleged stalemate despite agreement between President Michel Suleiman and Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun on the name of the interior minister.

President Michel Suleiman praised on Friday the Christian-Islamic summit held at Bkirki on Thursday saying that it should bolster dialogue and coexistence among Lebanese.

He said during the inauguration of a hall at St. Joseph University in Beirut: “While we fear the consequences the Arab developments may have on their own people, we are satisfied that reforms in these countries are leading to the drafting of laws that Lebanon had adopted since its formation.”

A solution to the stalemate of the interior ministry portfolio gave rise to a dispute between President Michel Suleiman and Free Patriotic Movement chief Michel Aoun on the Maronite ministers.

An Nahar daily said that after Suleiman approved Aoun’s suggestion to name retired Internal Security Forces Maj. Gen. Marwan Charbel for the interior ministry post, he asked for a second Maronite minister to be part of his share in the new cabinet given that the FPM chief has claimed that Charbel is a consensual candidate and should not represent the president alone.

Premier-designate Najib Miqati and Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun are at loggerheads over several portfolios despite a solution to the interior ministry which the FPM chief and President Michel Suleiman were bickering over for the past several months.

Al-Liwaa daily said Friday that Miqati and Aoun are competing over the telecommunications portfolio which is part of the latter’s share in the caretaking cabinet.

The formation of the new government is still awaiting major agreement on the entire line-up despite a preliminary consensus on retired Internal Security Forces Maj. Gen. Marwan Charbel to lead the interior ministry, Baabda palace sources said.

President Michel Suleiman’s visitors told An Nahar newspaper in remarks published Thursday that all sides have a serious intention to end the cabinet deadlock but warned that consultations are carried out to reach agreement on the entire lineup, which means that any snag could further delay the formation of the cabinet.

Premier-designate Najib Miqati’s government might witness light over the weekend after agreement was reached on granting the controversial interior ministry portfolio to retired Internal Security Forces Maj. Gen. Marwan Charbel.

Media reports said Thursday that President Michel Suleiman approved to grant the portfolio to Charbel who was among the list of names that Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun had agreed on.

Political sources warned against being overly optimistic about the formation of the government anytime soon although they said that the atmosphere was more positive than before.

The sources told al-Mustaqbal daily in remarks published Wednesday that the “excessive optimism might not reflect the reality,” and said those who are being optimistic have most probably “rushed” to make their stances.

Syria has allegedly been behind the latest Hizbullah proposal to end the government formation impasse after the aides of the speaker and the Hizbullah leader met with Syrian officials in Damascus.

According to An Nahar daily, Syria gave the “password” to MP Ali Hassan Khalil and Hussein Khalil who returned to Beirut with new suggestions, including three possible names to head the interior ministry, which has been behind the three-month stalemate.