Speaker Nabih Berri lamented that the March 8 forces were no longer finding excuses to justify the deadlock in the government formation, said pan-Arab daily al-Hayat on Saturday.

Berri reportedly told his visitors that he did not understand the reasons that were delaying the formation of the new cabinet. They quoted the speaker as saying “we can no longer find excuses … particularly that we form a single team and are united in our choices.”

Al-Mustaqbal bloc MP Jamal al-Jarrah said he would meet with Speaker Nabih Berri on Saturday to inform him that he should be “punished” if the Syrian accusations against him turned out to be right.

“The reputation of the parliament and consequently the reputation of one of the lawmakers and his constitutional and legal rights are being raised,” al-Jarrah told An Nahar daily.

Hopes that a new government will be formed soon have disappeared in light of the recent contacts and meetings regarding the formation, reported the daily An Nahar Friday.

It appears that matters have returned to square one, especially given the fragile trust between Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati and Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun.

President Michel Suleiman voiced his concern on Wednesday over the ongoing vacuum in Lebanon given the failure to form a new government.

His visitors reported him as saying that the stalling in the formation process will harm the Lebanese’s interests, especially given the unstable situation in the region, reported the daily Al-Mustaqbal Thursday.

Hizbullah MP Nawaf Moussawi accused the March 14 forces of seeking to avenge the March 8 coalition, mainly Hizbullah and Amal, by pitting southerners against each other over illegal construction on state property.

Moussawi told As Safir daily in remarks published Thursday that March 14, led by al-Mustaqbal movement, sought to “ignite sectarian strife” by pitting neighbors against each other and stirring animosity within the same family members.

Speaker Nabih Berri said during his weekly meeting with MPs on Wednesday that he was exerting all efforts to solve what he called the chaos of illegal construction on public property in the south.

Berri’s pledge came after As Safir daily published a report saying there were more than 500 illegal construction violations in southern Lebanon.

President Michel Suleiman rejected over the weekend a draft cabinet lineup proposed by Premier-designate Najib Miqati but media reports said Tuesday that discussions have made progress and are now centered on the distribution of portfolios and names of candidates.

Suleiman had remarks on the lineup that Miqati proposed to him on Saturday night during a meeting held at Baabda palace away from the media spotlight, As Safir daily said Tuesday.

Speaker Nabih Berri called for an emergency meeting for Amal movement officials last night in which he informed them that “there’s a conspiracy targeting their relationship with Hizbullah,” and they should work on abolishing it.

He said that the last reports from WikiLeaks were “dangerous” and “poisonous,” what required a decisive response from Amal Movement and Hizbullah, As Safir newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Speaker Nabih Berri has stressed that Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s latest remark on his party’s ties with the Amal movement thwarted attempts to create disunity between the two allies.

Nasrallah’s statement “foiled an attempt to break the unity between Hizbullah and Amal,” Berri told As Safir newspaper in remarks published Monday.

A Middle East Airlines plane landed at Beirut airport on Friday morning bringing 95 Lebanese who have escaped the violence in the Ivory Coast.

The plane had 244 people on board.