The Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri renewed the call for the formation of a non-partisan government of specialists in accordance with the French initiative to achieve reforms, while the presidency accused Hariri of trying to impose new norms outside the constitution.
Hariri - in his speech today, Sunday, on the occasion of the 16th anniversary of the assassination of his father, Rafik Hariri - blamed President Michel Aoun for obstructing the formation of the government, and said that he presented to Aoun a government formation 14 times, but he did not agree to it, citing preserving the rights of Christians, and that the last time was two days ago.
"His Excellency the Prime Minister's first answer, frankly, was not encouraging, and he returned to the tone of 6 plus Tashnak (Armenian Christian), which means the obstructing third," Hariri said, referring to one-third of the government’s members, which entitles him to object to important decisions.
But Hariri said, "This is impossible."
But the response came quickly from the presidency, as its media office reported that the prime minister-designate, Saad Hariri, is trying, through the formation of the government, to impose new norms outside of the principles, the constitution and the charter.
On the initiative presented by French President Emmanuel Macron, Hariri denied that this initiative was an interference in the internal affairs of Lebanon.
In his speech, Hariri warned of the bad repercussions of corruption on the entire Lebanese state, noting the importance of the independence of the judiciary to ensure that this is combated.
The new government is the first step in a French road map.
The French initiative includes steps to tackle rampant corruption and implement the necessary reforms to mobilize billions of dollars in international aid to repair an economy that has collapsed due to the accumulation of debt.
"In all my Arab and international meetings, and in all of my contacts I have made, there is a readiness and willingness, not even Hamas, to help Lebanon, to stop the collapse, to rebuild Beirut," Hariri said.
Lebanon suffers from a financial collapse, with the rise of the national debt, the high rates of unemployment and the decline of the currency, which led to an increase in inflation.
Hariri stressed that there is no way out of the crisis in isolation from the Arabs and the international community, and without deep reconciliation with the Arab brothers, and to stop using the country as a platform to attack the Arab Gulf states and threaten the interests of the Lebanese.
On October 22, Lebanese President Michel Aoun assigned Hariri to form a government after his predecessor, Mustafa Adeeb, apologized for the failure of his mission to form a government to succeed Hassan Diab's government.
Two months later, Hariri announced that he had presented Aoun with a government formation that included 18 ministers from non-partisan specialists, but the latter announced his objection to what he called at the time the uniqueness of Hariri in naming ministers, especially Christians, without agreeing with the presidency.
With regard to the assassination of his father, Hariri called for the implementation of the ruling of the International Court and the handover of Salim Ayyash, the accused of the assassination, and for the cessation of the series of assassinations in the country.
Hariri was assassinated on February 14, 2005 in an explosion in which he used 1,800 kilograms of TNT, along with 21 other people, including Economy Minister Basil Fuleihan, who was accompanied by Hariri in his car.
On August 18, the court convicted Salim Ayyash in absentia, a member of the Lebanese Hezbollah group, of the assassination of Hariri.