Mikati: “we are meters away from the competition and, we will solve it in a decent way”
Those familiar with the file of the formation of the Lebanese government confirm that the meeting today, Tuesday, between President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati, was not positive, despite what was rumored about great optimism leaked among the Presidency of the Republic hours before the meeting.
Mikati went out to repeat the same position after each meeting, “We are continuing our consultations. Everyone has the intention to form the government, because not forming a government is a big sin against the nation, and we need it to keep pace with developments.”
A source familiar with Aoun-Mikati’s consultations confirms to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that “the dispute still exists over the method of distributing ministerial portfolios, as each party demands a sovereign and balanced portfolio, and there are parties requesting more than two portfolios, which the president did not agree to.” The Republic, especially with regard to the head of the Marada movement, Suleiman Franjieh, who wants three portfolios before accepting the minimum condition of assigning him a sovereign portfolio, headed by the Ministry of Energy and Water, which Aoun wants from his share and refuses to give it up.
Although Mikati described the dialogue with President Aoun as “positive”, hoping that the government would soon see the light, he responded to journalists’ questions about the absence of any ministerial formation in his hand, as is customary, by saying, “The file is lost from my hands,” before he reconsidered and asserted that His answer came “as a matter of humor”, and he takes out a paper from his pocket instead of the file, justifying that it has become short, stressing that “we are meters away from the competition and, God willing, we will solve it in a decent and acceptable way.”
Knowing that this bag has been held by the President of the Republic’s team for many years, and it is one of the most helpless ministries and a waste of public money, and it has brought the country to a complete darkness in which Lebanon is experiencing its most dangerous chapter today.
The source pointed out that “the circles of the two presidents are trying to create a positive atmosphere near the formation of the government, with the aim of calming the street and the exchange rate of the dollar on the black market, but the dispute still exists at the level of some ministerial names and the method of distribution, and the Ministry of Interior knot is in place, and it is a contract that reopens the obstacles that occurred Overcoming it, such as justice and finance, knowing that the birth of the government is not impossible, and surprises always appear at any moment and agreement occurs, especially in light of internal pressures due to the collapse occurring, or external, including the sanctions stick.
In answering journalists’ questions, Mikati was keen to confirm that “Franjieh knows perfectly well that there is no government without proper representation,” knowing also that Franjieh, the former Minister of Public Works, Youssef Fenianos, is accused of the Beirut port explosion.
Mikati spoke that he does not link the formation of the government to any specific time, and “we are doing our best to remove all the knots and obstacles, as the formation is not easy and it is a difficult arithmetic equation,” stressing that there are loyalties in the government, and this matter is not a defect. Merit and efficiency to receive the bag.
He also stressed his good relationship with the head of the “Future Movement” Saad Hariri, in response to what is rumored that he is deviating from the agreement between them, and stressed that he is in constant contact with him and he is his most supportive.
It was also remarkable in Mikati’s words that the discussion with Aoun had not yet touched upon the government’s program, and was limited to placing the right person in the right place.
It should be noted that the formation that Mikati is working on, in which he takes into account partisan, sectarian and regional representation with a “tint of competence”, opposes the demands of the Lebanese street, even the international one, which supports a government outside the traditional political class that plundered and corrupted the country and blew up its people a year ago in Beirut, and today in Akkar, and continues to gradually kill him by various means.
