Free Patriotic Movement chief Gebran Bassil lashed out Sunday at Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri and warned of a perceived attempt to return the country to the “pre-2005 era.”
“What is the current specialty of the PM-designate?” Bassil said in a televised address, casting doubt on the possibility that the new government will be truly a so-called “government of specialists.”
In his press conference held at noon, Bassil touched on the stalled government formation process in Lebanon, where he indicated that the long-awaited cabinet has to take important decisions in all fields and at levels.
“We do not entrust Saad Hariri alone over reform in Lebanon, for he shoulders responsibility for the policy that brought the country to where it is today,” Bassil said, emphasizing the President of the Republic’s role in issuing the governmental decree in agreement with the Prime Minister, as per the Taif constitution.
“We agreed through the French initiative to form a government of specialists, including its head and members,” he added, questioning about the specialty of the current PM-designate?
“The rule of competence was not only broken by the prime minister, but also by cabinet ministers, for what does it mean to combine two ministerial portfolios under one minister, such as foreign affairs and agriculture or social affairs and the environment?” Bassil went on to question.
At the regional level, the FPM Chief indicated that “this year is an election year in Iran, Syria and Israel,” and is “a year of great changes.”
“We, as Lebanese, must prevent the fall of the state through the formation of the government,” underlined Bassil.
Source: NNA
