New Cabinet Hurdle Lies in Kesrouan-Jbeil amid Confrontation between Aoun and Suleiman
A major hurdle preventing the formation of the new cabinet began surfacing this week after Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun insisted that the candidate for the second Maronite minister, part of President Michel Suleiman’s share, should not be from Jbeil and Kesrouan.
Beirut newspapers quoted informed sources as saying on Tuesday that for election reasons, Aoun is refusing that the sixth Maronite minister in the cabinet be from Jbeil and Kesrouan for fears that Suleiman would undercut the FPM chief’s popular base in the two regions in the parliamentary elections in 2013.
Al-Akhbar daily said that mediators proposed to Suleiman the names of former ministers Jean Obeid and Naji Bustani but the president rejected both of them.
Miqati’s sources confirmed the issue while sources close to Aoun denied that the FPM was seeking to stir trouble. “Every time we make progress in the consultations, we face a new obstacle created by others.”
In addition to the new stumbling block of the 6th Maronite minister, the previous disagreement on the candidate for the interior ministry post began appearing. Sources told An Nahar newspaper that the deal on naming retired Internal Security Forces Maj. Gen. Marwan Charbel to the post hasn’t been settled yet.
The sources told the daily that Aoun continues to hold onto Caretaker Telecommunications Minister Charbel Nahhas with the support of Hizbullah.
In an optimistic twist, the impasse on the Sunni seat of the previous Sunni opposition began to be solved amid a reported deal to grant it to Faisal Karami.
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