Prime Minister Najib Mikati delivered a fatal blow to the possibility of forming a government in the few days remaining of the presidency after his visit to Baabda Palace and his meeting with President Michel Aoun. Upon his departure, when asked about his famous phrase, "We will form a government even if we have to sleep in Baabda Palace," he responded, "There is no place left to sleep; everything has been moved to Rabieh," a remark that carries a lot of meaning, primarily the intention not to form a government.
The negative indicators from the visit did not stop there, as Mikati and the head of the "Strong Lebanon" bloc, Gibran Bassil, mourned the chances of formation in a verbal clash that occurred between them in the evening. Bassil accused the Prime Minister-designate and those behind him of attempting to breach the constitution by handing over presidential powers to a caretaker government after Aoun's departure from Baabda. Mikati responded by describing Bassil’s remarks as emotional and advised him against provocation.
Member of the "Development and Liberation" bloc, MP Mohammad Khawaja, noted in an interview with the "Anbaa" electronic newspaper that "the statements from Bassil and Mikati serve as an obituary for the chances of forming a government; the atmosphere is not encouraging, and the odds of birth have diminished with the statements that emerged in recent hours which do not indicate any possibility of formation, and 'it will take a miracle' to put one together."
Khawaja also addressed the border demarcation issue and the agreement that is expected to be signed next Thursday during U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein's visit to Beirut. He anticipated that "the army will sign the legal formula, not the politicians, while the Israeli side might be represented by the Director-General of the Ministry of Energy according to the information."
Khawaja dismissed the likelihood that this issue would create any problems, believing that "the efforts made in Lebanon and by the United States do not suggest that the agreement might fall through, and Europe’s need for gas along with Washington’s desire to avoid war in the Middle East are also factors that facilitate the conclusion of the agreement, knowing that Israel is trying to finalize this matter before the legislative elections on the second of next month."
