Miqati Meets Rifi, Encourages Discussion on Measures for Success of Future Cabinet
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati said Monday that his resignation opened way for the discussion on the possibility of holding national dialogue and urged officials to discuss ways to provide incentives for the success of the upcoming cabinet.
“The resignation was aimed at creating a positive shock amid the difficult circumstances that the country is going through. And this became clear through the resumption of talk on dialogue,” Miqati told visiting delegations at his hometown of Tripoli in the North.
The decision came after the referral of the wage scale to parliament “to avoid being accused of escaping from my responsibilities,” he said.
After months of deadlock, the government referred on Thursday the wage scale for the public sector to parliament for approval. The procrastination had led to around a month of strike by civil servants and daily protests near state institutions.
Miqati stepped down on Friday amid a political deadlock between the March 8 and 14 alliances and infighting within his own government mainly on the formation of the authority that would oversee the polls and the extension of the tenure of Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi who is about to hit the mandatory retirement age for his rank.
Rifi was among the delegations that visited Miqati in Tripoli on Monday.
Also Monday, Miqati said in a short speech at the House of Art in Tripoli's al-Mina that the new government should be a national salvation cabinet that represents all factions
“The unity of the nation is essential,” he said.
In remarks to As Safir daily, Miqati snapped back at Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun on Monday without naming him, saying had foreign diplomats urged him to step down he wouldn't have faced the criticism by some Western states.
“Had my resignation letter been written at embassies as some claimed, it would have been totally rejected,” Miqati told the newspaper.
The sign of such a rejection was the “negative responses that were made by some (capitals in the world) immediately after my resignation,” he said.
On Saturday, Aoun described the motives behind Miqati’s resignation as “silly,” saying one should head to “one of the embassies” in Lebanon to uncover the real purposes of his decision.
In further remarks to al-Liwaa newspaper, Miqati said his experience in the government was “difficult.”
Miqati has been prime minister since June 2011. He was tasked with forming the Hizbullah-led cabinet in January of that year.
Asked if he would want to lead the new government, he said: “I can't yet say that I am a nominee to head the new cabinet because simply I haven't yet made up my mind.”
He told al-Liwaa that he was still evaluating the past stage and would take his decision after that.
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