Lebanese politicians fail to deliver a new government on time
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Alaina
- . September 17, 2020
- . Update: September 18, 2020 7:19 am
Lebanese political leaders on Tuesday failed to form a new government in line with the deadline promised to French President Emmanuel Macron on September 1. Even after several rounds of talks with President Michel Aoun over the past two days, heads of parliamentary blocs were not able to reach an agreement to establish a new Cabinet under Prime Minister-designate Mustapha Adib. Lebanon’s political elite, who have administered the corrupt government system in the country for years, have been disagreeing over the formation of a new cabinet.
During French President Macron’s visit to Beirut earlier this month, Lebanon’s politicians had promised to form a new government within two weeks with the deadline by September 15. As soon as a new government will be established, urgent reforms could be initiated to assist the country in overcoming the ongoing economic and financial crisis. Leading the international support to Lebanon in the aftermath of the August 4 Beirut port blast, French President Emmanuel Macron made two official visits to the crisis-hit country in the past few weeks.
Reportedly, PM-designate Mustapha Adib is seeking to appoint the Cabinet as soon as possible in a bid to commence administrative work as designed in the French roadmap. He is also seeking to change control of various ministries, noting that many of them have been controlled by the same leaders for several years.
Meanwhile, France has expressed regret to the fact that Lebanese politicians were unable to form a government within the said deadline. Speaking to Reuters, a French presidency official said, “France regrets that Lebanese political leaders have not managed to keep the commitments made to President Macron on Sept. 1, 2020, according to the announced timeframe.”
Asserted that it is not yet too late, he further suggested the Lebanese politicians to assume their responsibilities and act in the sole interest of the country. With his roadmap for Lebanon, Macron is aiming to introduce a wide range of reforms in the country that varies from fixing the electricity system to resuming talks with the International Monetary Fund. He will reportedly visit Lebanon at least twice before the end of the year to review the progress on the implementation of the reforms.
