Hezbollah wants to form a government. It has been the only party working for over a month to achieve a breakthrough in this regard and was close to succeeding. Party officials asserted that a new government would be formed before the end of the presidential term. After some obstacles emerged, officials continued to repeat the same mantra: the government is coming soon. It was expected to be formed by the end of last week, but new obstacles arose, summarized by MP Gebran Bassil's desire for five Christian ministers.
Speaker Nabih Berri tried to benefit from the atmosphere of consensus that prevailed in the recent meeting between President Michel Aoun and the heads of parliament and government. He told President Aoun and Prime Minister Najib Mikati during the meeting: Let’s take advantage of our presence here together and announce the government. Mikati responded to Aoun: Why don't you summon the Director General of the Presidency so we can sign the government formation decree? Aoun's response was negative. He stated that he wanted ministers with strong voices.
Aoun's position reflects Bassil's desire. He is dissatisfied with all of his ministers. He even speaks, like Aoun, negatively about most of the current ministers he selected. However, many see this desire as concealing Bassil's decision not to form a government, which would facilitate his role as an opposition figure in the coming period, weaken Mikati, embarrass everyone, and push towards electing a new president.
Barely hours had passed since Aoun's stance, which irritated Mikati, when the designated Prime Minister arrived in Bkerke, knowing that the appointment had been agreed upon in advance. Mikati briefed Patriarch Mar Bechara Boutros al-Rahi on what had occurred, informing him of Bassil's seemingly unachievable conditions. Reports indicate that Mikati asked al-Rahi to avoid calls for forming a government but rather to secure support for the current government.
Notably, in his sermon yesterday, al-Rahi did not address the issue of government formation but focused on the presidential election, suggesting that a "unified, non-partisan government" should be formed after the presidency.
So, have the chances of forming a government vanished? It is more accurate to say they have become slim, a situation that has caused displeasure within Hezbollah, which knows that the coming days will be critical if it wishes to exert pressure, particularly on its orange ally, to retract its conditions.
Past experiences suggest that Bassil will not back down. However, a final phase of efforts is expected to begin on Wednesday, after the party reassures itself regarding the demarcation file, hoping the government can be formed by the end of this week; otherwise, there will be no government. Notably, sources from Baabda and the Saray agree, for once, on pessimism.
