No Cabinet Session Looms on Horizon as Parties Mull 2 Options on Mechanism
Prime Minister Tammam Salam has stressed that he would set a date for a new cabinet session when his contacts with the different parties represented in the cabinet reach solutions to the government paralysis.
Officials close to Salam said the premier backs any initiative that would facilitate the government's work.
They told al-Mustaqbal daily published on Tuesday that his proposal to change the decision-making mechanism, which was adopted after the end of President Michel Suleiman's tenure in May last year, was aimed at ending his “suffering.”
The formula that was proposed by Salam and adopted by the cabinet due to the absence of a president requires the unanimous support from all the ministers on the cabinet decisions.
But the PM now wants to amend the mechanism after several cabinet members began to exercise veto power, stalling several projects.
According to An Nahar daily, the consultations carried out by Salam are focusing on two proposals – either keeping the same formula in return for receiving pledges from the ministers not to paralyze the cabinet or implementing article 65 of the constitution.
The article's clause five says: “The legal quorum for a council meeting shall be a two-thirds majority of its members. It shall make its decisions by consensus. If that is not possible, it makes its decisions by vote of the majority of attending members. Basic issues shall require the approval of two thirds of the members of the government named in the decree of its formation.”
In their remarks to al-Mustaqbal newspaper, the officials said all parties “should be aware of the importance of agreeing” on an amending the mechanism.
According to the officials, Salam is currently seeking to manage the country's affairs and avoid a deterioration in the current situation.
The paralysis prevented the cabinet from meeting for two consecutive weeks.
The PM met on Monday with al-Mustaqbal movement leader former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who backed Salam's bid to change the mechanism.
But several cabinet ministers are rejecting such a move, saying the cabinet should serve in a caretaker capacity until the election of a new head of state.
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