Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri accused Hezbollah of "disrupting" the formation of the new government following the failure of efforts to compose it for more than five months, calling on all political blocs to shoulder their responsibilities.
"It is very unfortunate for Hezbollah to put itself in the position of responsibility for obstructing the government," Hariri told a news conference in his home in downtown Beirut on Tuesday.
"The government has collided with a big barrier. Some people like to call it the March 8 bloc. I see it more than that, and I can only see it as a decision by the Hezbollah leadership to suspend the formation of the government."
Hariri rejected the requirement to represent Sunni representatives allied with Hezbollah in the formation of the government; to facilitate the formation, and considered it "an improvement of the problems in the country, and a clear deviation to form a government."
He ruled out the representation of one of the Sunni deputies affiliated with Hezbollah in the next government, saying that this is not for him "because most of these belong to parliamentary blocs got its representation in the government."
Hariri stressed the importance of the Taif Agreement and the need to preserve it to preserve the stability of the country. "The stability that the country is living today is because of this agreement. The Taif Agreement is our constitution, and I affirm this agreement," he said.
He also considered the formation of the government "a national necessity, security and economic, and the Lebanese Constitution gives the right to form the government of the President and the President-designate and a point on the line."
Hariri pointed out that "there are those who do not override the national interest on the private interest," adding that the formation of the government "hit a large barrier expressed by Hassan Nasrallah," Secretary-General of Hezbollah.
The prime minister in charge of the need to open the Lebanese parties to all, not to close itself in their regions, pointing out that "concession in the interest of the country is a gain and not a loss."
He said that he did what he should do with regard to the formation of the government, and called on everyone to shoulder his responsibilities.
| Hassan Nasrallah demands representation of Sunni MPs allied with Hezbollah in government (Reuters) |
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In the Lebanese arena, the representation of the Sunni representatives allied with Hezbollah has been seen as a minister in the next government. Hariri rejects this request because these deputies ran last May's elections in blocs that got their representation in the government.
Six candidates won seats in the elections on lists belonging to Hezbollah and another to Amal in predominantly Shiite areas.
Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah said in a speech last Saturday that he would not go through any government lineup unless he included the representation of Sunni MPs in the government.
"As these MPs are demanding their right and their representation, and since it is their right to stand by them, representing and representing them, we stood with them and all the Lebanese listen and we will stay with them, and we will stay with them for a year, two years and a thousand hours."
Lebanese President Michel Aoun, who is the country's most prominent Sunni leader, has been tasked with forming the government after parliamentary elections in May, the first in nine years.
The elections ended with the decline in the number of deputies of the Hariri bloc for the first time since 2005. Some have relegated its popularity to compromises and political concessions.
In recent months, Hariri has faced major difficulties, mainly due to sharp differences between political parties - especially Christians - to share ministerial quotas. After its dissolution, it ran into the demand to represent Sunni MPs opposed to it.
In Lebanon, a small country with a fragile structure, the government can not be formed without the consensus of the major powers. The political system is based on the sharing of quotas and positions among the sects and parties.
The formation of the government has always been a difficult task in Lebanon. In 2009, Hariri needed five months to form his government, compared with 10 months for former Prime Minister Tammam Salam between 2013 and 2014.
The delay in the formation of the government for fear of deterioration of the deteriorating economic situation in the country. The speedy birth of the government would open the way for Lebanon to receive multi-billion dollar grants and loans pledged by the international community in support of its dilapidated economy at international conferences, notably the Cedar Conference, hosted in Paris in April.