Lebanon finally forms government
Mr Hariri’s bloc won the election but had to form a unity government Lebanese President Michel Suleiman has announced the formation of the 30-member national-unity cabinet – five months after a general election. Five ministers were chosen by President Suleiman, and 15 are from PM-designate Saad Hariri’s Western-backed coalition.
The remaining 10 are from the opposition, including two members of Hezbollah, which struck a deal with the governing coalition last week. The deadlock over the new government had threatened Lebanon’s stability. Mr Hariri’s coalition won a narrow majority in June’s election, but needed to negotiate with the opposition to form a unity government. "Finally, a government of national unity is born," Mr Hariri said. "I want to be honest from the start: this government can be a chance to renew faith in the state and its institutions… or it can turn into a replay of our failures." ‘Real partnership’Hezbollah representative Mohammed Fneish told the Associated Press news agency: "This formula achieves the principle of real partnership in political decision-making on key decisions."
One of the major reasons behind the delay was a series of extensive deliberations by Hariri with Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) leader Michel Aoun, who insisted that his Reform and Change bloc be granted a basket of key portfolios.