’Moment of truth’ as Lebanon’s Hariri presents cabinet to president

SMA NEWS – BEIRUT

Lebanon’s prime minister-designate Saad Al-Hariri has presented a new cabinet proposal to President Michel Aoun and said he was awaiting his response on Thursday in a move that could end nine months of deadlock as the country faces economic collapse.
Veteran Sunni politician Hariri has presented multiple proposals to Aoun, an ally of Iran-backed Shiite group Hezbollah, over the past months, but they have been unable to agree on a list.
“Now is the moment of truth,” Hariri, who has been at loggerheads with Aoun over the naming of ministers since he was appointed in October, told reporters on Wednesday after the meeting.
Aoun said in a statement he would study the proposal that contained “new names and a new distribution for portfolios and sects from what was previously agreed” to reach a decision.
The Lebanese presidency added that Hariri had requested that Aoun give an answer on the government formation before noon on Thursday.
The proposal is for 24 specialist technocrat ministers, in line with a French initiative that envisioned a government capable of enacting reforms that could unlock much needed foreign aid to rescue the nation.
The previous proposals have also been for a technocrat team belonging to different sects. It was not immediately clear specifically how the new line-up differed or what would happen if Aoun rejected it.
However, Wednesday’s proposal is seen as Hariri’s last attempt to form a cabinet as he was widely expected to give up on his efforts after a trip to long-time backer Egypt.