Not all obstacles have been removed for the formation of the government, but Hezbollah insists on the necessity of its establishment. The party is working, away from the media, to overcome the remaining challenges, assisted by the Director General of General Security, Major General Abbas Ibrahim. The current term will not conclude without the formation of a new government that will manage the expected vacuum starting from midnight on October 31. The amendments to the current government will not be significant; however, the leader of the Free Patriotic Movement, Deputy Gibran Bassil, is striving to secure as many gains as possible before the formation, insisting on expanding his ministerial share as a condition for the President’s signature on the government formation decree. It is noteworthy that Aoun and Bassil have conceded several conditions they had set due to Hezbollah's lack of cooperation.
Information suggests that the government is likely to be born next week, with an indicator being the visit of the appointed Prime Minister Najib Mikati to Baabda, which will not take place unless the path is clear for formation. It is also noted that the name of the Minister of Economy and Trade, Amin Salam, who was excluded from the expected lineup and then returned, will not remain in his position and will be replaced by Mohamed Kanj, representing the Akkar deputies.
However, the issuance of the formation decree may carry a scandal. The MTV website learned that one of the "ministers-in-waiting" bribed a group of deputies with sums ranging from $50,000 to $100,000 to be nominated as their representative in the upcoming government, noting that this "minister-in-waiting" does not hold a university degree and is completely unfamiliar with the affairs of the ministry he will be assigned to! Should the government be formed and include his name, we will publish information about how he attained this position, the amounts of money he paid, and the deputies who received money from him.
On another front, it has become certain that Finance Minister Youssef Khalil will be excluded from the upcoming government, especially since the Speaker of the Parliament, Nabih Berri, is very displeased with his performance and some of his decisions, the latest being the announcement to raise the exchange rate of the US dollar to 15,000 LBP, which Berri was not informed about. This decision was made between Mikati and Khalil, at the request of the former who implied that he had coordinated the matter with the Speaker, angering Berri who demanded that Khalil issue a retraction statement regarding his decision.
