BEIRUT: MP Walid Jumblatt came out in support Wednesday of a proposal for the formation of a neutral Cabinet, including the option of a fait accompli government, in a bid to break the four-month-long stalemate.
It was a major reversal by the Progressive Socialist Party leader, who has long insisted on a national unity government representing the country’s major political parties, including Hezbollah and the Amal Movement.
Jumblatt’s change of heart raises questions about his reported pledge to Speaker Nabih Berri and Hezbollah not to join any Cabinet unless the two Shiite groups were represented in it.
In an interview with Egypt’s Middle East News Agency MENA, Jumblatt said he supported “a proposal for a neutral technocratic government in Lebanon in order to emerge from the current whirlpool of vacuum.”
“If a [political] vacuum continues and the government formation falters, I will study all options, including the formation of a neutral fait accompli government,” he added.
Jumblatt said it was time to form a government to deal with deteriorating socio-economic conditions, adding that divisive issues, such as Hezbollah’s arms, could be left to the National Dialogue process. He voiced support for the March 14 coalition’s demand for the formation of a government that does not include Hezbollah, the Future Movement, the PSP and others.
Jumbatt’s remarks come as a proposal for a neutral government is gaining ground as Salam’s attempts to set up a government of rival politicians have stumbled on conditions and counter-conditions set by the March 8 and March 14 camps.
President Michel Sleiman has voiced support for a neutral government as a last resort, while a source close to Salam said this option is on the cards if no agreement is reached with the political parties on “a Cabinet of national interest.”
Last week, former Prime Minister Saad Hariri proposed the formation of a government excluding his Future Movement and Hezbollah as a way out of the current logjam.
However, Hezbollah and its March 8 allies have warned against such an option – they insist on a national unity Cabinet in which all parties are represented in proportion to the size of their representation in Parliament.
The March 14 coalition, which has demanded a neutral, nonpartisan government, has rejected Hezbollah’s participation before it withdraws its fighters from Syria.
In his interview, Jumblatt slammed Hezbollah’s military intervention in Syria in support of embattled President Bashar Assad. “I advise [Hezbollah leader] Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah to withdraw from Syria because the countdown for the Syrian regime’s has begun,” he said.
Meanwhile, Berri said he wasn’t optimistic about seeing a new government soon. MPs who met with Berri at his Ain al-Tineh residence quoted him as saying that “things are still the same.”
For his part, Nabatieh MP Mohammad Raad, head of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc, blamed the delay on Saudi Arabia. “There are indications that Saudi Arabia doesn’t want a Cabinet yet,” he told a local TV. “The referee has yet to blow the kickoff whistle for the Cabinet formation.”
Berri, who met U.S. Ambassador Maura Connelly on a farewell visit, received a telegram from U.S. President Barak Obama congratulating him on Eid al-Fitr and wishing the Lebanese people health, prosperity and peace.
Connelly, who also met with Salam and caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati for the same purpose, urged Lebanese leaders to swiftly form a new Cabinet, agree on a new electoral law and commit to the disassociation policy to protect the country from the repercussions of the war in Syria.
After a meeting with Mikati at the Grand Serail, Connelly warned that Hezbollah’s involvement in Syria was dragging Lebanon into the conflict.
“The best defense against spillover [from Syria] and the best means to protect Lebanon is to strengthen the institutions of the state, for all parties to respect Lebanon’s democratic process, and for Lebanon’s leaders to be responsible to the Lebanese electorate and protect the interests of all Lebanese,” Connelly said, according to a statement released by the U.S. Embassy. Connelly said the U.S. wanted all Lebanese factions to adhere to the disassociation policy and respect the “Baabda Declaration” in order to keep Lebanon at a distance from the effects of the Syrian crisis.
“We strongly encourage Lebanese leaders to expeditiously form a new government and to finalize their work on a new electoral law that would renew the Parliament and allow Lebanon’s democratic process to get back on track,” she added.
“We also call on all parties to respect the institutions of the state. Hezbollah’s unilateral involvement in the Syrian conflict risks dragging Lebanon into that conflict and further undermines the Lebanese state,” Connelly added.
After meeting Salam, Connelly said Lebanon needed a fully empowered government to face domestic and regional challenges.
Separately, the country’s Maronite bishops called for a swift formation of a new government “capable of carrying out national tasks, ensuring security and economic stability, sparing Lebanon the repercussions of wars and painful events happening around it, and neutralizing it from regional and international struggles.”
In a statement issued following their monthly meeting at the Maronite patriarch’s summer residence in Diman, the Council of Maronite Bishops voiced their anxiety over the political paralysis hitting constitutional institutions.
“This dangerous situation requires all officials to sit at the dialogue table in a spirit of frankness, reconciliation and national and historical responsibility,” the statement said.
