The Lebanese presidency said that parliamentary consultations to name the new prime minister will begin next Monday (July 26), in a new attempt to push the country's divided politicians to form a government.
Lebanese politician Saad Hariri last week apologized for forming a government after months of efforts, which reduced the chance of quickly agreeing on a government that could start saving the country from financial collapse.
There is no clear alternative to the prime minister, a position that must be occupied by a Sunni according to the sectarian system for distributing power in Lebanon, while the presidency of the republic is held by a Maronite Christian, and the presidency of the parliament (parliament) is held by a Shiite Muslim.
Aoun must choose the candidate with the most support from members of parliament, in which Hezbollah and its political allies form a majority.
Western governments are pressuring Lebanese politicians to form a government that can initiate reform.
Western countries have threatened sanctions and said financial support will not flow before reforms begin.
sharp disagreements
And last Thursday, Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri announced his apology for not forming the government, after he submitted - a day before his apology - a second cabinet formation to President Michel Aoun, but the latter requested an amendment to the ministries and their sectarian distribution, which Hariri rejected.
Meanwhile, the presidency said - in a statement - that Hariri "rejected all amendments related to changing ministries, their sectarian distribution and the names associated with them."
Over the course of about 9 months, disagreements between Aoun and Hariri prevented the formation of a government to succeed the current caretaker government, headed by Hassan Diab, which resigned on August 10, 2020, 6 days after a catastrophic explosion in the port of the capital, Beirut.
These disputes centered on the right to nominate Christian ministers, with an accusation from Hariri - which Aoun denies - of insisting that the latter's team - including Hezbollah - obtain the "blocking third", a number of ministers that allows control of government decisions.
For nearly two years, Lebanon has been experiencing the worst economic crisis in its modern history, with a financial and living deterioration, the collapse of the local currency (the lira) against the dollar, and a scarcity of food commodities, medicine and fuel.
The World Bank described - at the beginning of last June - the crisis in Lebanon as "the most severe and severe in the world", and classified it among the three most difficult crises recorded in history since the mid-19th century.