Hariri vows communication after re-designation as PM.

Byline: Elias Sakr

Summary: <p>President Michel Sleiman designated on Wednesday Future Movement leader Saad Hariri as Prime Minister for the second consecutive time following two days of binding parliamentary consultations.AaFollowing his re-designation, Hariri vowed to communicate with all parties, "so no one would say we refrained from deliberating with them."

BEIRUT: President Michel Sleiman designated on Wednesday Future Movement leader Saad Hariri as Prime Minister for the second consecutive time following two days of binding parliamentary consultations.AaFollowing his re-designation, Hariri vowed to communicate with all parties, "so no one would say we refrained from deliberating with them."Aa

"Also I will be more patient, much more patient than the previous time," he said.Aa

A statement by the presidency's press office said Sleiman appointed Hariri as premier "in accordance with the Constitution and as a result of the parliamentary consultations' outcome and after deliberating with Speaker Nabih Berri."Aa

At the end of two days of consultations on Wednesday, 73 MPs had nominated Hariri to head the cabinet, including 71 lawmakers of the parliamentary majority along with two from the opposition's Armenian Tashnag party.Aa

Hariri, who stepped down last Thursday accusing the opposition of hampering his efforts to form a cabinet upon his first-time designation, said on Wednesday he would kick off major deliberations with all political parties following Eid al-Fitr, a three-day celebration that marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan.Aa

"I would work toward establishing the right basis for a logical and responsible dialogue that would push the formation process forward," Hariri said in a statement issued following his re-designation.Aa

He also expressed his openness to all suggestions "to form a cabinet that reflects Lebanon's image of unity."Aa

"The formation process should stem from the Constitution's essence based on democratic principles and the outcome of the June 7 elections as well as convey the Lebanese will for coexistence," Hariri said.Aa

Tackling the cabinet's structure, Hariri hinted that he was examining several possibilities. Opposition groups endorsed the already agreed upon 15-10-5 cabinet formula.Aa

The 15-10-5 structure grants the majority 15 ministers, the opposition 10 and Sleiman five seats, guaranteeing the president the tipping vote. Both the majority and the opposition are respectively denied absolute majority or veto power.Aa

Hariri stressed that whether it was a unity cabinet, a technocrat government or one formed of political leaderships, eventually it should be capable of solving the Lebanese people's everyday issues and face Israeli threats.Aa

Speaking at an iftar banquet in Qoreitem later Wednesday, Hariri saluted his allies in the March 14 Forces for nominating. He said this proved they were" a united entity with one outlook over the future of Lebanon."Aa

Meanwhile, Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun said on Wednesday that his party would not partake in the next cabinet if its demands were not met.Aa

Aoun stressed that his party's participation in the next government was tied to a set of conditions and demands.Aa

"Our participation in the government has a price, thus if the majority deemed our participation necessary, let them pay, if not let them form a majority cabinet," Aoun said.Aa

But he stressed that he agreed with Hariri on several important issues but differed on approaches to solving them.Aa

Aoun insists that his son-in-law caretaker Telecommunication Minister Jebran Bassil be re-appointed for a second term while Hariri refused to grant candidates who lost the race to Parliament a seat in the cabinet.Aa

Bassil lost the elections in his hometown of Batroun to March 14 MPs.Aa

"The Telecommunications Ministry is now within our hands and we have so far uncovered four major scandals," Aoun said following a meeting of his Reform and Change parliamentary bloc. "I don't know what will happen when those scandals are made available to the public," he added.Aa

Aoun said he "reluctantly" agreed to the 15-10-5 cabinet formula, adding that he won't endorse any other formula.Aa

Future Movement MP Nuhad Mashnouq told The Daily Star on Wednesday that the 15-10-5 cabinet make-up was still applicable, adding that talks about a technocrat government were not founded on solid basis. "The 15-10-5 make-up turned from an imperative structure into a bargaining card but was not withdrawn from the negotiations table," Mashnouq said.Aa

Opposition forces as well Democratic Gathering bloc leader MP Walid Jumblatt have expressed their commitment to the agreed-upon 15-10-5 formula following Hariri's resignation.Aa

March 14 officials have said it was up to the new premier-designate to decide upon the continued validity of the 15-10-5 formula, stressing the need to resume deliberations on the cabinet issue from scratch.Aa

Future Movement MP Amar Houri said on Wednesday that opposition groups "killed" the 15-10-5 formula since they imposed unconstitutional conditions on the premier-designate with regard to the cabinet's formation.Aa

According to the Constitution, the president and the premier-designate sign the cabinet's formation decree.Aa

"It is the constitutional right of the Development and Liberation bloc to refrain from nominating a candidate for the post of premier and it is Hariri's right to make use of his constitutional prerogatives to form a cabinet," Houri said.Aa

On Tuesday, Berri's Development and Liberation parliamentary bloc did not name Hariri for the post of prime minister during consultations with Sleiman.Aa

Liberation and Development bloc MP Ali Hassan Khalil said on Wednesday his bloc's decision not to nominate any candidate to head the cabinet was "not a personal stance but rather a political conviction that the safeguarding of Lebanon necessitated a national-unity government."Aa

On Tuesday, following consultations with Sleiman, the Amal Movement MP said his bloc did not name Hariri because the latter "did not commit to form a cabinet based on the 15-10-5 formula" prior to his re-designation.Aa

Berri's bloc had named Hariri in the first round of consultations in June.Aa

Houri, however, said that Hariri would pursue his efforts to form a government capable of facing regional threats and domestic challenges.Aa

Houri's ally Lebanese Forces MP Antoine Zahra said on Wednesday that the decision of the Liberation and Development bloc not to nominate Hariri "liberated the premier-designate from the burden of those who did not facilitate the process."Aa

Zahra added that if Hariri's efforts to form a national-unity cabinet hit a dead end, other cabinet formulas are negotiable such as a technocrat government. He also slammed Syria for attempting to hinder Hariri's efforts and tie the government to conditions and complications prior to its formation.Aa

Meanwhile, Hizbullah's Loyalty to Resistance bloc, headed by MP Mohammad Raad, issued a statement on Wednesday saying that only a national-unity cabinet would guarantee real partnership and preserve the country's stability and face foreign threats.Aa

"The formation of a national-unity cabinet necessitates that parties give up their desire to unilaterally govern or take monopoly over power no matter the circumstances," the statement said.Aa

Meanwhile, the March 14 Forces General Secretariat slammed on Wednesday conditions imposed by the opposition on Hariri, adding that they constituted a violation to constitutional norms and would lead to "a regime crisis."Aa

"The obstructing team is attempting to make up for its loss in the parliamentary elections by imposing conditions on the cabinet line-up," the statement said.Aa

The secretariat also urged all political parties to resort to the state's institutions and implement the Taif Accord.

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