President Michel Aoun Wednesday sent a clear message to Lebanon’s next prime minister that he wanted to have a major role in the formation of a new government, hinting at the possibility of holding up any Cabinet lineup that he might not approve of, political sources said.
Addressing the Lebanese in a televised speech on the eve of binding parliamentary consultations to pick a new prime minister, Aoun also called on the would-be premier, most likely to be ex-PM Saad Hariri, to commit to enacting reforms and fighting endemic corruption in the public administration, two major elements contained in the French initiative designed to pull the crises-ridden country out of its worst economic and financial crunch since the 1975-90 Civil War.
“With his surprise speech, Aoun is telling the would-be prime minister he wanted to have a key role in the formation of the new Cabinet,” a political source told The Daily Star. “The president is also signaling that he will not sign the decree of what he deems as a de facto Cabinet,” the source said.
“It’s clear that Aoun’s speech reflects resentment on the part of the president and his political party, the Free Patriotic Movement, over the expected designation of [former] Prime Minister Saad Hariri to form the next government,” the source added.
Aoun’s speech came as Hariri is set to be designated to form a new government Thursday during mandatory consultations the president will hold with parliamentary blocs to poll them on their choice for a new prime minister.
Despite opposition by the two main Christian blocs -- the FPM and the Lebanese Forces -- Hariri looks assured of gaining the support of a parliamentary majority sufficient to designate him to form a new government. A political source told The Daily Star Hezbollah was also not likely to endorse Hariri.
Aoun, who this month completes the fourth year in his six-year mandate, affirmed that he would not step down, as demanded by his political opponents, and would stay committed to the Cabinet formation process once a new premier has been designated.
“Today, I am required to designate [a prime minister] and then participate in the formation of a government, pursuant to the provisions of the Constitution. Will the one who is entrusted with the nomination and formation commit to addressing the strongholds of corruption and launch the reform workshop?” Aoun asked in his speech.
Addressing members of Parliament who will nominate the next prime minister, Aoun said: “This is your responsibilities, deputies, for you are in charge of parliamentary oversight and accountability on behalf of the people that you represent. You are invited today, in the name of the higher Lebanese interest, to leave the arbitrage to your national conscience and sense of responsibility toward your people and your nation, especially that a year has passed since Oct. 17, along with the indications it bears about the outrage of the citizens and the slogan ‘all of them means all of them’ that they raised, which includes the good and the bad among us,” he added. He was referring to the nationwide popular uprising that rocked Lebanon on Oct. 17 last year against the deteriorating economic conditions and the country’s entrenched political elite.
Hariri is expected to return to the helm of the premiership, exactly a year after his government resigned under the pressure of the popular uprising that called among other things, for an overhaul of the decadeslong sectarian-based ruling system and the ouster of the political elite accused of corruption, mismanagement and waste of public funds.
Most parliamentary blocs have pledged support for Hariri, although Aoun and the FPM are against his nomination. However, the Amal Movement and its allies, along with the Progressive Socialist Party’s parliamentary bloc, and a number of independent MPs are expected to endorse Hariri’s nomination as the next prime minister.
Declaring that he would not walk away from bearing responsibility during his remaining term, Aoun said: “I would rather keep the pledge and the promise. I hope that you think carefully about the impact of the designation on the formation, on reform projects and on international rescue initiatives, because the current bad situation cannot continue, after today, to place accumulated and growing burdens on the shoulders of the citizens.
“I will keep upholding my responsibilities in designation and formation, in every constitutional stance or position, and in the face of all who are depriving our people of reforms and keeping them from building the state,” he added.
Aoun used the bulk of his speech to accuse unnamed officials of blocking reforms long demanded by international donors, including a forensic audit of the Central Bank and an overhaul of the ailing electricity sector, which bleeds the cash-strapped state Treasury around $2 billion annually.
“Where is the electricity plan that has been kept in the drawers since 2010?” And “where is the rescue initiative to solve the economic crisis to save Lebanon from the repercussions of the tragic Beirut Port blast?” Aoun asked. “Where are we from the assistance programs, the French rescue economic initiative, the talks with the International Monetary Fund and the contributions of the International Support Group for Lebanon in the rescue process?”
Lebanon’s talks with the IMF over a $10 billion bailout package have been stalled by a dispute between the government on the one hand, and the Central Bank and commercial banks on the other, over the size of losses in the financial sector.
Aoun emphasized the importance of the forensic audit of the Central Bank accounts during the reform drive.
“The silence and noncooperativeness of any official in the context of forensic audit show that they are associates in waste and corruption. Should this experience be meant to succeed, it will apply to ministries, boards, funds, members, committees and mixed companies with no exception,” Aoun said, adding: “It will allow us to define responsibilities, kick off the necessary reforms and eventually depose the corrupt; so who dares stop it? And how can we pretend to embrace reform and fight corruption while obstructing at the same time the most important procedure that enables us to discover the strongholds, causes and perpetrators of corruption? Is it possible that the Lebanese people, deputies and media keep silent about that?”
Lebanon has been left without a fully functioning government since caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab submitted his Cabinet’s resignation on Aug. 10 over the deadly explosion that devastated Beirut Port.
Hariri, backed by France and regional powers, has said he was ready to form a new government made up of specialists with a six-month mission to deal with two major issues: Halt the economic collapse and rebuild Beirut following the Aug. 4 port blast that also damaged half of the capital, killed at least 192 people, injured thousands, left 300,000 people homeless and caused losses worth billions of dollars.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
