Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea announced Tuesday that the formation of the new cabinet is being obstructed by parties seeking to prevent newly-elected President Michel Aoun from implementing his presidential vision.
“The real problem that is delaying the formation of the government is the fact that some parties have not digested the idea that there is a new presidential tenure,” Geagea told LF school students in Maarab.
“They want the presidency and the new tenure to be like they were during the Syrian tutelage era. Some parties do not even tolerate that the president is having a say in the issue of the cabinet line-up,” Geagea added.
Slamming the paramilitary parade that Hizbullah has held in Syria’s Qusayr and the parade that ex-minister Wiam Wahhab has organized in Jahliyeh, Geagea said “the message was not only addressed to the areas around Jahliyeh, but also to the new tenure.”
“They wanted to warn him against going too far and to tell him that there are limits on his performance,” Geagea added.
“Some do not want the president to think or to restore Lebanon’s foreign ties, especially after the deterioration of the past five years. General Michel Aoun has started to restore Lebanon’s foreign ties and some do not like this idea at all,” the LF leader went on to say.
He stressed that the problem is not about a certain ministerial portfolio.
“Some want to have the president under their control and of course General Aoun is not a president who receives orders from anyone,” Geagea added.
“Lebanon and the new tenure cannot be under any party’s control. This tenure can only be governed by the oath of office and the Constitution,” the LF leader emphasized.
