Lebanese president in conciliatory mode as deadlock looms

Lebanese President Michel Aoun has pushed back against attempts by Hezbollah to delay the formation of a government, despite of his long-standing alliance with the country’s strongest Shiite group.

Mr Aoun’s decision to back Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri in his refusal to cede seats to Hezbollah’s Sunni allies in a new governing coalition – a last-minute demand by the Shiite group – is not likely to shake a 12-year pact between his Free Patriotic Movement and the country’s strongest political party. But his speech on Wednesday night was a momentary repositioning for the Lebanese president, who is trying to place himself at equal distance from rival parties backed by Saudi Arabia and Iran, said Sami Nader, head of the Levant Institute for Strategic Affairs in Beirut.

There is no indication that Mr Aoun’s latest position will be sustained, Mr Nader said, but his comments suggest that he is at least temporarily “assuming the role of an arbiter between these two groups”.

Since the May parliamentary election, the rival political parties have been in disagreement over the distribution of key ministerial portfolios and the number of cabinet seats allocated to each group, hampering attempts by Mr Hariri to form a governing coalition.

This week, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said that he accepted a compromise in the distribution of Christian seats between his party and the Free Patriotic Movement, clearing the main hurdle to government formation.

Hezbollah, however, posed a new challenge for Mr Hariri, by demanding the prime minister cede a seat to one of its Sunni allies. Mr Hariri refused.

Officials allied with the Future Movement leader characterised Hezbollah’s demand as an attempt to undermine the prime minister and delay the formation of a governing coalition.

“The obstruction is not justified and using delays as a political tactic harms the national interest,” Mr Aoun said on Wednesday.

He did not name the group stalling the progress.

“We don’t want to weaken the prime minister. On the contrary, he must be strong because the responsibility placed on him is a big one.”

The president also said that the ceding of seats to Hezbollah’s Sunni allies ran contrary to the logic of cabinet formation, which rests on distributing seats among established political blocs.

Hezbollah’s demand that Saad Hariri cede a seat to a Sunni ally is seen as a delaying tactic in forming a governing coalition