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LEBANON TO HAVE TWO MINISTERS OF ARMENIAN ORIGIN
yerkir.am
14:21 - 10.06.2011
Two main hurdles delaying the birth of a new Cabinet were knocked
down Wednesday, June 8, as deliberations to speed up the formation
process gained momentum after Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati
held "icebreaker" talks in Parliament with Free Patriotic Movement
leader Michel Aoun.
Sources close to the meeting said talks were able to resolve
difficulties related to the telecommunication and energy and water
resources ministries with parties agreeing for the FPM to retain the
two portfolios.
Nearly five months after the designation of Mikati as prime minister,
Cabinet formation efforts have been obstructed by snags over the
distribution of portfolios in a 30-member Cabinet lineup.
The FPM share will also include two Armenian ministers, whose names
have yet to be made available, one to head the industry ministry
and one minister of state. However, FPM sources warned that if the
agreement reached Wednesday among the groups involved in the formation
of the Cabinet fails to be swiftly implemented this can only mean
that a new government will never see the light of day.
Although a source close to Mikati said tension between Aoun and
Sleiman also receded, another obstacle delaying the new cabinet is
Aoun's insistence that the candidate for the second Maronite minister,
part of Sleiman's share, should not be from Jbeil or the Christian
heartland of Kesrouan for electoral reasons.
yerkir.am
14:21 - 10.06.2011
Two main hurdles delaying the birth of a new Cabinet were knocked
down Wednesday, June 8, as deliberations to speed up the formation
process gained momentum after Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati
held "icebreaker" talks in Parliament with Free Patriotic Movement
leader Michel Aoun.
Sources close to the meeting said talks were able to resolve
difficulties related to the telecommunication and energy and water
resources ministries with parties agreeing for the FPM to retain the
two portfolios.
Nearly five months after the designation of Mikati as prime minister,
Cabinet formation efforts have been obstructed by snags over the
distribution of portfolios in a 30-member Cabinet lineup.
The FPM share will also include two Armenian ministers, whose names
have yet to be made available, one to head the industry ministry
and one minister of state. However, FPM sources warned that if the
agreement reached Wednesday among the groups involved in the formation
of the Cabinet fails to be swiftly implemented this can only mean
that a new government will never see the light of day.
Although a source close to Mikati said tension between Aoun and
Sleiman also receded, another obstacle delaying the new cabinet is
Aoun's insistence that the candidate for the second Maronite minister,
part of Sleiman's share, should not be from Jbeil or the Christian
heartland of Kesrouan for electoral reasons.