The Speaker of the Parliament, Nabih Berri, confirmed that his initiative is ongoing and cannot be retracted, stating, "It remains on the table."
Berri emphasized in a statement to the newspaper "Al-Joumhouria" that the formation should occur between the President of the Republic and the designated Prime Minister, "based on continuous consultations between them until they reach an agreement." He explained that the President of the Republic has the right to have a say in all names of ministers; "however, the designated Prime Minister is responsible for the government before Parliament according to the Constitution, and therefore, he is the one who drafts the cabinet formation project and presents it to the President, not the other way around."
Regarding the remarks of the head of the Free Patriotic Movement, Gibran Bassil, that he supports Berri's initiative, provided that the President names the Christian specialist ministers according to a "neither for nor against" formula, Berri pointed out that the selection of ministers must be based on the following criteria: competence, specialization, and independence, meaning they should not have party affiliations. He noted that this selection should occur in cooperation and coordination between the President and the designated Prime Minister, "so that they continue to discuss and exchange names until they reach consensus."
Berri indicated that the French and American positions are good, stating, "The Americans are now alongside the French in their efforts, but the ball is in our court as Lebanese, and the responsibility primarily lies with us, as our people are suffering, our economy is collapsing, and what is to come could be worse, especially since the support for essential goods will last only for one more month. Thus, we must hasten to form a government before it's too late."
To provide a clearer picture, Berri revealed that he had proposed a set of names for the Shia portfolios to Hariri, who in turn presented other names to Berri. He said, "I did not hesitate to agree to some of what the designated Prime Minister proposed, after finding that it aligns with the specifications I mentioned and the necessary criteria for the ministers."
Earlier, Berri stated in a press release, "I will not despair, and I will continue," indicating that the Speaker of the Parliament will continue to work on the crisis despite all the difficulties and obstacles his initiative has faced since its inception in the background until it was made public a few days ago.
The joint French-American statement, which urged the acceleration of government formation, coincided with Berri's efforts to break the deadlock and to provide an international supportive environment for attempts to break the stagnation.
