Report: Berri Dispatches Delegate to Hariri on Govt Initiative

Speaker Nabih Berri has reportedly dispatched a delegate to the Center House in the evening on Tuesday, to explain his initiative to PM-designate Saad Hariri in a bid to ease the government formation deadlock, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Wednesday.

The daily added that a similar effort towards the Free Patriotic Movement chief, MP Jebran Bassil aims to make the latter visit Berri in Ain el-Tineh, or dispatch a delegate from Ain el-Tineh to visit Bassil.

Al-Joumhouria added that the move aims to secure prior agreement between Hariri and Bassi on the titles of the Speaker’s initiative, so that Berri can proceed with it.

The Speaker has reportedly told his visitors yesterday that he exchanged a set of ideas in a telephone call with the French Foreign Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, that could steer the cabinet formation crisis out of its deadlock.

Media reports said that Berri’s initiative is based on two points: emphasizing that Hariri himself should lead the government and taking into consideration the demands of the various political parties while respecting the principle of specialty in picking the ministers.