The Prime Minister Najib Mikati is visiting Baabda Palace today, but it is unclear whether he carries any new proposals that would allow for progress in the government formation file. While sources close to Baabda are awaiting what Mikati will bring, political sources have confirmed that the visit aims to gauge President Michel Aoun's stance on the proposal Mikati previously presented to him.
These sources hope that the Prime Minister will cease attempts to "acquire a ministerial bloc relying on those who do not wish to participate in the government," such as his demand to change Minister of Displaced People Issam Sharafeddine, despite the Progressive Socialist Party leader confirming that he does not want to participate in the government and is seeking the full Druze share.
However, the repeated visits, according to the same sources, indicate that the Prime Minister "seems to deserve them," having realized that he may be the cause of a constitutional chaos that could potentially spill into the streets amidst an economic collapse, which would not allow him to govern with a caretaker government during the presidential vacancy.
In this context, high-ranking sources in the Free Patriotic Movement affirmed that "we will not accept in any way the continuation of the caretaker government in the event of a presidential vacancy," and "we will not accept" the project proposed by Presidents Nabih Berri and Najib Mikati based on "ambiguous constitutional fatwas." The sources emphasized that "options are open to us, foremost among them being the option that we do not want, and President Aoun does not want, which is his staying in the presidential palace" if Mikati fails to form his government before then.
As for the "constitutional ambiguity that others might take regarding such an option and other options, it is no less ambiguous than that surrounding the hereditary powers of the caretaker government over the powers of the President." The sources confirmed that this approach "finds supportive echoes in many Christian circles opposed to encroaching on the powers of the first Christian position, including certainly in Bkerke."
Sources close to the movement confirmed what was published by "Al-Akhbar" yesterday: if the other team decides to violate the constitution by granting the caretaker government powers corresponding to the President, then President Aoun can undertake two actions: the first is to lift the mandate given to Mikati and call the parliamentary council to new consultations to select another Prime Minister who can quickly form a government, even though this option requires a Sunni partner and might spark a crisis with the Sunni community.
There is also the option for the President to follow in the footsteps of President Amin Gemayel, who formed a military government in the last minutes of his term on September 22, 1988, handing it the powers of the presidency amid a resigned government led by President Salim al-Hoss in an interim capacity, though that does not mean Aoun is obligated to establish a military government.
