Berri: Government to Stay, Package Deal is Only Solution
Speaker Nabih Berri has ruled out possible ministerial resignations over the thorny issue of military appointments while stressing that only the so-called “package deal” he has proposed can resolve the country's multiple political crises.
“The government will stay although it has become similar to a resigned government,” Berri's visitors quoted him as saying in remarks published Monday.
He also expected the extension of the term of Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji under a decree that would be issued by the defense minister who would first raise the issue in cabinet.
“Whatever happens outside the country and whatever comes from outside the country, the Lebanese crisis can only be resolved through a comprehensive package deal, and there is no use in awaiting the regional developments,” Berri added.
As for the exchange of tirades between Hizbullah and al-Mustaqbal Movement, Berri said the two parties “must choose between continued bickering and consensus.”
Berri has recently proposed a so-called package deal that involves holding parliamentary elections under a new electoral law before electing a new president and forming a new government.
Should the parties fail to agree on a new law, the parliament's current extended term would be curtailed and the elections would be held under the 1960 law which is currently in effect, Berri says.
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