Electricity Settlement Sparks Heated Arguments at Cabinet
A tense atmosphere from a meeting of joint parliamentary committees on the electricity project spilled into the cabinet on Wednesday amid reported verbal clashes between Change and Reform bloc ministers on one side and Health Minister Ali Hasan Khalil.
Media reports said that during a government session held at the Grand Serail an argument erupted between Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas and Khalil, who is Speaker Nabih Berri’s aide, after the Change and Reform bloc minister described a decision reached at the committees meeting as “dissent.”
Nahhas also reportedly described the deal that was proposed by Berri as a violation of the constitution.
The committees had agreed to adopt two amendments to cabinet’s $1.2 billion energy proposal, drawing the ire of MP Michel Aoun’s Change and Reform bloc lawmakers who said the agreement came at the expense of the authorities of Energy Minister Jebran Bassil, who is Aoun’s son-in-law.
Heated arguments also erupted between several ministers, including the ministers loyal to National Struggle Front bloc leader MP Walid Jumblat.
Public Works Minister Ghazi Aridi, who is from Jumblat’s camp, argued with Nahhas over a railway project.
During the verbal clashes, Khalil telephoned Berri to inform him about the tense atmosphere. But late night contacts between the involved parties did not lead to a solution.
On Thursday, lawmakers endorsed the electricity project during a parliamentary session. However, Aoun's bloc expressed reservations.
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