Berri Insists on Holding Parliamentary Session ‘until Day of Resurrection’

Premier-designate Najib Miqati is trying to avoid a dispute with Speaker Nabih Berri, who is making all efforts to speed up the cabinet formation process by suggesting a 49-article agenda for the June 8 parliamentary session instead of restricting it with renewing the term of the Central Bank governor, the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat reported on Monday.

Sources told the daily that Berri doesn’t want to shift the government formation crisis to parliament.

MPs quoted the speaker as saying: “I am not doing anything for myself, everyone is aware of the poor economic situation we have reached, therefore, we must evade reaching a worse situation, starting with avoiding any vacuum in the Central Bank governor position.”

Berri said: “Had I not been keen on the country and its economy, I would have abided by the Central Bank's by-laws by allowing the first deputy governor, Raed Sharafeddine - a Shiite - serve as its acting governor and he is up to this task.”

MPs stressed that the Speaker is insisting on his stance and those who oppose the parliamentary session are free in their choices “but he will not back down from it”.

He informed the Parliamentary Bureau Committee of the session’s agenda, but the majority of its members refused to discuss it.

The members have labeled the session as unconstitutional, saying it is an attempt to substitute the Cabinet with parliament.

Sources told the newspaper that Berri will “reveal all on Wednesday and he will have great things to say on all issues.”

Berri told Ad Diyar newspaper in remarks published on Monday: “The session stands until the day of resurrection; if it lacked the quorum on June 8 we will call for another session the next week and so on.”

He accused those who are leading a campaign against the session of trying to “paralyze the country and institutions,” the newspaper said.

Addressing the March 14 camp and other blocs’ statements that the session is unconstitutional, Berri noted: “If a hundred MPs attended the session and the Sunni MPs were absent I will not hold a session as opposed to when former PM Fouad Saniora held Cabinet sessions when all of its Shiite ministers had resigned.”

Parliamentary sources meanwhile revealed to al-Liwaa newspaper on Monday that contacts are ongoing between Berri and Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat, who still insists on refusing to attend the parliamentary session with it wide agenda.

Jumblat told the speaker that he would attend the session on condition that it discuss one article, that of the renewal of the Central Bank governor’s term, adding that he will seek that Phalange party leader Amin Gemayel take the same stance.