As the pillars of power prepare for a prolonged presidential vacancy, efforts have intensified in recent hours to form a new government capable of assuming the powers of the presidency during this interim period. The shuttle diplomacy conducted by the Director General of General Security, Major General Abbas Ibrahim, has drawn attention as he carries a "government passport" to expedite the necessary presidential and political approvals for issuing decrees before the end of the current term, according to sources following the government contacts. The sources confirmed that Ibrahim has "succeeded in overcoming some obstacles that were impeding the formation of the new government, and efforts are underway to address the remaining obstacles on the path to formation, especially since the desire is serious and the odds are high this time."
Following his round of meetings, which included former MP Talal Arslan, sources revealed the possibility of resolving the Druze seat issue by "replacing Minister of the Displaced Issam Sharafeddine with former minister Manal Abdel Samad." They noted that the formula currently being worked on involves making adjustments to the caretaker government’s composition, which includes replacing six ministers: three Christians (including Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib and Minister of Administrative Development Najla Riachi), as well as one Druze minister and two Shiite (Youssef Khalil) and Sunni (Amin Salama) ministers.
Regarding the obstacles that still impede the presidential consensus on the new government formation, the sources clarified that they mainly relate to "the Christian share that 'Free Patriotic Movement' leader Gibran Bassil wants to monopolize in naming all of its ministers without allowing the designated president to have any say or objection." Conversely, it was noted that "Hezbollah" has strongly intervened in "softening Bassil's demands by persuading him not to insist on appointing partisan figures to avoid embarrassing Mikati and provoking the Sunni community, considering that the priority now is to form a fully empowered government to manage the vacancy and ensure that the 'National Movement' participates in the decisions it makes on behalf of the president instead of leaving the field open to fill the presidential vacancy with a caretaker government.
