Lebanon’s Hariri named PM, wants unity govt fast
SAAD al-Hariri was designated as Lebanon’s next prime minister on Thursday and said all parties agreed that a national unity government must be formed as quickly as possible due to economic risks at home and growing dangers in the region.
The new coalition government is expected to reflect the enhanced political position of the Iran-backed Shi’ite group Hezbollah and allies that support its possession of arms, which together won at least 70 of parliament’s 128 seats in an election on May 6.
Mr Hariri won the support of nearly all the MPs in the new parliament during consultations with President Michel Aoun on Thursday, reflecting his status as the top Sunni politician despite his steep losses in the election.
The post of prime minister is reserved for a Sunni Muslim in Lebanon’s sectarian power sharing system. This will be the third time Mr Hariri serves as prime minister since he was thrust into politics by the 2005 assassination of his father, Rafik.
“All the main parliamentary blocs have agreed on the need to form a national unity government as fast as possible in light of the growing regional dangers around us and domestic economic and financial pressures,” Mr Hariri said after meeting Mr Aoun.
Mr Hariri lost more than a third of his seats, mostly to Hezbollah and Hezbollahaligned groups. The staunchly anti-Hezbollah Lebanese Forces, a Christian party, nearly doubled its MPs to 15.
Hezbollah is designated a terrorist group by the United States, and Washington has singled out the group in its new policy against Iran since withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal this month.
Mr Hariri said the new government must recommit to a policy of “dissociation” from regional conflicts and establish the best relations with Arab states, a reference to Gulf countries that see Iran and Hezbollah as a regional menace.
Analysts believe the power balance tilted in favour of Hezbollah and allies could lead to a widening of ties with the Syrian government that is shunned by the West and Gulf Arab states that backed the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad.
Consultations on the new government’s formation will begin on Monday, parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri said.