The eyes of Arab foreign ministers and diplomats who gathered in Beirut yesterday, Saturday, in preparation for the upcoming regular Arab summit scheduled to be held in Algeria in early November, were focused on the governmental crisis in Lebanon, particularly regarding its implications for the upcoming presidential elections. This concern stems from the need to assess the level of Lebanon’s participation in the summit, which this year will be chaired by President Michel Aoun, whose term ends on October 31. Consequently, a new president must be in place to lead Lebanon's delegation; otherwise, this responsibility will fall to the Prime Minister, who should ideally be in a position to function effectively rather than lead a caretaker government or a “government of time-wasting,” as some describe it.
These questions are also of concern to the French Foreign Ministry, which issued a statement emphasizing the need for presidential elections in Lebanon to be conducted according to constitutional deadlines, and that the designated Prime Minister Najib Mikati should form a government as soon as possible, capable of implementing essential reforms.
Sources following the developments noted to the Kuwaiti newspaper "Anbaa" that the French Foreign Ministry's direction towards Mikati represents an “address error,” suggesting it would have been more appropriate to address President Michel Aoun instead. They clarified that Mikati is not the one who leaked the draft of the government formation with the intent of sabotaging it, nor did he refuse the ministerial amendments or propose expanding the government to 30 ministers by adding six ministers of state representing major political parties and blocs. These conditions are put forth by the head of the Free Patriotic Movement, Gebran Bassil, who is negotiating with President Aoun and delaying the formation process with further consultations. Bassil prefers extending the caretaker government rather than having a new government that would strip him of the Energy Ministry, and he has revived the principle of rotation merely to retain this lucrative ministry.
President Aoun had proposed to Mikati the addition of six ministers of state representing political parties to the resigned 24-member government, taking into account the sectarian distribution, and they are scheduled to meet again on Monday or Tuesday at the latest.
