Hariri ready to be Lebanon PM again but with terms: Official

Saad Al Hariri is ready to return as prime minister of a new Lebanese government, a senior official familiar with his thinking said, on condition it includes technocrats and can quickly implement reforms to stave off economic collapse.

Hariri’s resignation on Tuesday let a political vacuum at a moment of acute crisis, with reforms urgently needed to ward off even deeper financial problems in one of the world’s most heavily indebted states.

Ater two weeks of anti-government protests largely subsided following Hariri’s announcement, main roads in Lebanon reopened on Wednesday as security forces sought to restore a semblance of normality.

Banks remained closed for an 11th working day but the Association of Lebanese Banks said they would resume normal operations and receive customers on Friday.

The senior official, who declined to be identified, said any new cabinet led by Hariri should not include a group of top-tier politicians who were in the outgoing coalition government, without naming them.

The education minister called on schools and universities to reopen on Thursday.

President Michel Aoun formally asked Hariri on Wednesday to continue in a caretaker role until a new cabinet is formed, as required by Lebanon’s system of government.

Early on Wednesday, troops cleared one major route north of Beirut ater briefly scuffling with demonstrators.

The Ring Bridge in the centre of the capital opened ater negotiations with some protesters who did not want to leave, saying they wanted more of the authorities to resign.

Many protesters stayed on, but did not block the whole road.

In a statement, the army command said people had a right to protest, but that applied “in public squares only.”

The main protest camp in a square in the centre of the capital was quiet but was closed to traffic by security forces.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged the formation of a new government responsive to the needs of the people.

“The Lebanese people want an efficient and effective government, economic reform, and an end to endemic corruption,” he said.

Aoun said recent events had “opened the door to significant reform,” but people would return to the streets if obstacles were placed in the way of the formation of a “clean government.”

The cabinet comprised top representatives of most of Lebanon’s sectarian parties, among them Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil of the Christian Free Patriotic Movement, a prominent target of protesters.