US envoy urges Lebanese officials to break government formation deadlock

SMA NEWS – BEIRUT

US Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy C. Shea on Thursday urged Lebanon’s leaders to form a new government and “rescue the country from the multiple crises and self-inflicted wounds” it was facing.
The country’s politicians have been unable to agree on who should be in the new government and what portfolios they should have, and there is also a dispute between President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri about who is to blame for the stalemate.
The row has rumbled on for months, even as Lebanon grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic, the aftermath of the deadly Beirut Port explosion, social unrest and economic challenges.
Shea met Aoun on Thursday, saying afterwards that the importance and urgency of forming a government committed to and able to implement reforms had been discussed with the president.
“The United States has continuously reiterated its commitment to stand by and support the people of Lebanon. Right now, there is a need for courageous leaders, who are ready to put aside their partisan differences and work together to rescue the country from the multiple crises and self-inflicted wounds it is facing. I am confident that you can do this.”
She also told political activists that their demands, about their vision for the government, fighting corruption and holding parliamentary elections, should be “put aside.”
“Let’s focus on the here and now,” the ambassador said. “I know your government, your leaders are trying to form a government. And I would just say, respectfully, for anyone who has been placing demands on forming this government that your people so desperately need, and if those demands have resulted in blocking that government formation, I would ask: Now that we are almost eight months without a fully empowered government, isn’t now the time to let go of those demands? To begin compromising? It’s important to focus on building a government, not blocking a government. Thank you.”
Consultations between Aoun and Hariri reached a dead end earlier this week. Aoun insists on having the blocking third in any government being formed and naming the Christian ministers in it. Hariri, on the other hand, rejects the blocking third and is committed to a government of independent specialists.
Shea made her remarks before meeting Hariri, with a source close to the prime minister-designate saying that her statement could be read differently.
“The ambassador announced her stance on the Baabda (presidential) Palace, and this was not after meeting with Hariri,” the source told Arab News. “Therefore, her stance may be directed at Aoun to stress the necessity of giving up the demand of the blocking third. In any case, if things are heading toward a settlement, let it be because the situation is intolerable.”