Discussions on the formation of the cabinet made progress in the past 24 hours amid a report that Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun would get 10 ministers and the interior minister would be a consensual figure.

An Nahar daily said Tuesday that efforts are underway to convince Aoun into accepting a 10-minister share among which two are state ministries. As for the interior ministry, President Michel Suleiman would name a neutral minister who gets the consent of Aoun and other March 8 forces.

Hopes for the formation of a new government before Easter dissipated after Premier-designate Najib Miqati’s circles said that consultations on the cabinet would reach a standstill during the holidays.

While confirming that involved parties are discussing new ideas on how to solve the deadlock, the circles told An Nahar newspaper that contacts are still at their early stages and no final results could be reached soon.

Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah helped facilitate Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati’s mission to form a new government by refraining from setting any conditions on the process, revealed Hizbullah circles to the Kuwaiti al-Rai on Sunday.

They explained that Nasrallah had informed Miqati in their last meeting that he is free to support and even finance the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and choose whichever ministerial portfolios he wants to grant the party.

France’s Ambassador to Lebanon Denis Pietton discussed with Premier-designate Najib Miqati on Wednesday the latest developments on the new government formation process.

“Miqati is concerned about forming a balanced government,” Pietton said, telling reporters after the meeting that the administrative appointments require a “balanced and a widely represented government.”

Saudi Arabia was fully convinced that Assef Shawkat, Syrian President Bashar Assad’s brother-in-law, was conspiring to kill caretaker PM Saad Hariri and former PM Fouad Saniora, according to a WikiLeaks cable.

During a meeting with then U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman, Saudi chief of mission Abdul Aziz Khoja described Hizbullah as “the devil,” according to the cable dated November 3, 2007 and published Wednesday by al-Akhbar daily.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi stressed Monday that the country can no longer tolerate a political vacuum, saying Premier-designate Najib Miqati should form the new government as soon as possible.

“Lebanon can no longer tolerate the inexistence of an executive authority,” al-Rahi told reporters at Beirut airport before heading to the Vatican.

Premier-designate Najib Miqati has expressed frustration over the attempts of some parties to hold him responsible for the delay in the formation of the new government.

An Nahar daily said Sunday the prime minister-designate believes that these parties are taking advantage of Miqati’s decision not to make any statement by throwing accusations at him and linking the delay to personal interests or pressure from Syria.

Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah expressed pride in the party’s ties with Iran and slammed Caretaker Premier Saad Hariri for allegedly “making a big mistake” in harming Lebanon’s relations with Tehran.

“We are proud of our relationship and alliance with Iran and Syria,” Nasrallah said in a statement broadcast on television on Saturday night.

Speaker Nabih Berri reiterated on Wednesday during his weekly meetings with lawmakers that discussions are carried out to get rid of all disputes over the government formation.

“There are no more March 8 forces but a national front,” Berri said.

Hizbullah has advised Premier-designate Najib Miqati to “exercise more patience” and promised him to exert all efforts to help achieve common grounds over Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun’s demands of shares in the new cabinet, high-ranking political sources told An Nahar daily on Monday.

The sources also denied reports that Miqati had agreed to give 10 portfolios to Aoun’s Change and Reform bloc, another 10 to Hizbullah, Amal and some other March 8 parties and finally the last 10 ministers for President Michel Suleiman, the premier-designate and National Struggle Front leader MP Walid Jumblat.