As the dollar continues its upward trend, affecting the overall prices of food items and consumer goods, which preceded it by a considerable margin, it seems that the efforts to form a new government—taking place a month and a half after the last meeting between Presidents Michel Aoun and Najib Mikati—appear to be a mere "storm in a teacup." The recent meeting between the President and the designated Prime Minister seems like a superficial gesture rather than a serious dialogue.
Political sources following the situation noted that the consultations for the government formation are not as serious as some believe. If they were, the designated Prime Minister would have returned to Baabda the following day instead of getting sidetracked by a meeting about the return of Syrian refugees before the details of that return and the absence of an international decision on the matter were clarified.
The sources ruled out the possibility of forming a new government in the timeframe leading up to the presidential elections, indicating through "Anbaa" that the meeting between Presidents Aoun and Mikati is one thing, while delving into the specifics of government formation, portfolios, and names is another. They considered that matters are still in the realm of generalities and wishful thinking regarding the government's formation. Mikati's statements after the meeting suggest that discussions about the government remain in their initial stages, as he hinted that the formation process is lengthy and may surpass the onset of the presidential election period, at which point discussions about the government would lose relevance.
