New hope for end to Lebanon Cabinet deadlock

Hopes rose on Wednesday for the formation of a new government in Lebanon after France backed a proposal by former Prime Minister Saad Hariri to break the logjam. Naming a new Cabinet has been deadlocked for a month because the two main Shiite parties, the Amal Movement and Hezbollah, insist that they are entitled to nominate the finance minister. Prime Minister-designate Mustapha Adib wants a Cabinet of experts and technocrats to address Lebanon’s crippling economic problems. Hariri proposed on Tuesday that to end the impasse the new finance minister could be a Shiite but independent of Amal and Hezbollah.

“This declaration represents an opening and all parties should

understand its importance so that a government of mission can now be established,” the French Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

After a meeting with Amal leader and parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri, deputy Speaker Elie Ferzli said: “There are promising possibilities that can be built on, but we have to wait a bit.”

The French government has been pressing for the quick formation of an administration that will implement reforms to tackle corruption and attract international aid.

Hariri rejected assertions by Amal and Hezbollah that the Taif Accord that ended Lebanon’s civil war constitutionally empowered them to fill the Finance Ministry portfolio.