BEIRUT: Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri Tuesday said the lack of success so far in forming a new government was “a pure Lebanese failure” as some parties refused to budge on their demands for key ministerial portfolios, and denied there was any regional intervention influencing the formation process.
Declaring that Lebanon was facing economic problems and surrounded by regional conflicts, Hariri underlined the urgency for the quick formation of an all-embracing national entente government.
He said more time was still needed to reach a final Cabinet lineup.
His remarks came as the government formation stalemate has entered its third month with no solution in sight. They also came a day after caretaker Finance Minister Ali Hasan Khalil, a key political aide to Speaker Nabih Berri, said the three major hurdles blocking the government’s formation – namely the representation of the Christian and Druze communities as well as Sunni lawmakers not affiliated with Hariri’s Future Movement – have not yet been resolved, casting gloom on hope of any imminent breakthrough in the deadlock.