Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Moustapha Adib -
DALATI AND NOHRA / AFP
The Lebanese Prime Minister-designate announced on Saturday that he would renounce forming a new government as international pressure increases to replace the one who resigned after the massive deadly explosion at the port of Beirut.
“I apologize for not being able to continue the task of forming the government,” Moustapha Adib said in a televised address, apologizing to the Lebanese for his “inability” to achieve their “aspirations for a reformist government”.
The Lebanese government resigned following the devastating explosion at the port of Beirut on August 4 that left more than 190 dead and more than 6,500 injured, while devastating entire neighborhoods of the capital.
Open crisis
Mr. Adib, appointed on August 31, is under pressure to form a government as quickly as possible, so as to launch the reforms demanded by the international community to unlock billions of dollars in aid.
The Lebanese political parties pledged in early September, during the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron, to form a "mission" cabinet made up of "competent" and "independent" ministers within two weeks to leave the country economic slump.
But the process is stalling, in this country where power is shared between the different religious communities.
Mr. Adib's efforts were notably hampered by two Shiite formations, Hezbollah, a heavyweight in Lebanese politics, and his ally Amal, led by the head of Parliament Nabih Berri, who are claiming the finance portfolio.
According to observers, the stubbornness of the Shiite tandem is linked to recent US sanctions against a minister of the Amal party and two companies affiliated with Hezbollah.
Lebanon has been going through one of the worst economic, social and political crises in its history for a year.
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