Aoun and Hariri met last week at the Baabda palace but no agreement was reached regarding his demands for participating in the new government
MP Robert Ghanem a key member of the parliament and a legal expert said Hariri should propose a government to president Suleiman that includes representatives of all the parliamentary blocs and if any of the blocs refuse Hariri’s offer then it is its own problem and not that of the nation ..in other words it should be a “take it or leave it offer “
PM-designate Saad Hariri who recently had a meeting with Bassil vowed to do everything possible to make sure Lebanon has a government ahead of President Michel Suleiman's New York visit on September 23.
Hariri said he would resume talks with the various political leaders, stressing, however, that the need for every person to bear his responsibility.
"We are about to form a new government that comes in the wake of parliamentary elections in which March 14 forces emerged victorious," Hariri told an Iftar gathering in Qoreitem.
"And we have said from the beginning that despite winning these elections, logic dictates that we stretch our hand to our partners in the nation," he added.
Hariri emphasized the need to form a Cabinet that includes the various political leaders, saying: "Genuine partnership must be based on the logic that says: 'After relinquishing many (privileges) during parliamentary elections, the other side should meet us with reasonable demands."
According to Ad-Diyar newspaper sources, Hariri will present a new Cabinet to Suleiman for approval on Monday and it will be up to Suleiman to endorse it or not.
Al-Hayat newspaper reported that Suleiman in his own way has encouraged Hezbollah to facilitate Hariri's latest initiative regarding government formation.
It said Suleiman does not mind Hariri going ahead with his initiative, although he prefers consensus over a Cabinet lineup that would not lead to the withdrawal of Hezbollah and AMAL in the event the PM-designate formed a well-balanced government that could be rejected by Aoun.
Pro-Syrian former minister Wiam Wahab defended last Friday Aoun's demands and blamed the delay of the government formation on Hariri and warned of another "May 7" events .
Wahab was referring to May 7 2008 ( when Hezbollah angered by a government decision 2 days earlier to dismantle Hezbollah's telecommunication network and to fire pro-Hezbollah airport security chief Wafiq Shocair) , occupied the Sunni part of Beirut and tried unsuccessfully to occupy the Druze strongholds of Mount Lebanon. Wahab back then tried to create tension within the Druze community but was not successful because of the agreement reached between the 2 key leaders of the Druze community Walid Jumblatt and Talal Arslan .
Sunday
10:12pm Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri meets with PSP leader MP Walid Jumblatt in Qoreitem.
9:31pm Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri meets Kataeb leader Amin Gemayel in Qoreitem to discuss cabinet formation.
8:40 pm Former Prime Minister Omar Karami , a key member of the opposition , described Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri during an Iftar as “promising, responsible and willing to sacrifice,” adding that he is the only leader qualified to form a cabinet because of his large support base
8:30 pm CNN : Nine people were killed and 983 rescued when a ferry capsized Sunday in the Philippines, leaving crews scouring the waters for survivors, officials said.
8:01pm "LBC": Hariri, brought up the issue of portfolio rotation during his consultations today with the Minister Gebran Bassil
8:00pm Basil: the discussions with Hariri just like windmills do not produce any results
7:37pm Houry: the PM -designate will at the appropriate time and that is not in the too distant future, will exercise his constitutional authority and issue a decree on government formation
7:36pm al Manar : MP Hussein Khalil urged the president to complete his efforts that began and led to the Hariri and Aoun meeting
7:18pm MP Michel Aoun: No one can form the government in a moody fashion and has to be respectful of norms and standards
6:43pm FPM in response to Juzou’s statement : we won’t allow him or anyone else like him to take advantage of his religious position in undermining the dignity of the people and in distorting facts and spreading Fabrications and rumors
5:55pm Pakradonian said after meeting with Hariri’s in Center house : The PM designate started a new round of consultations and will submit a preliminary cabinet line up to the president
5:30pm Telecommunications Minister Gebran Bassil met PM-designate Saad Hariri at Center House in downtown Beirut for more than 1 hour and left without making any statement. Harir is also meeting Pakradonian
4:33pm Israeli minister: Netanyahu will announce within few days the construction of several hundred residential units in the west bank
2:45pm Suleiman told Jumblat: Any work toward unity is a profit to the nation and the institutions. Jumblatt told Suleiman : "Welcome home," adding "We hope that your visit will be a long one."
1:40 pm A secret Israeli military intelligence committee report has determined that Israeli airman Ron Arad died of unknown illness in captivity in Lebanon in mid-1990s, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Sunday.
1:00pm Press reports: A meeting is likely to take place Sunday between Hariri and Telecoms Minister Gebran Bassil.
1:00 pm Mount Lebanon Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Ali Jouzou criticized Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun, describing him as an enemy of the Maronite church, the President, the media and the Sunnis in Lebanon. He accused Aoun of blackmail and of trying to torpedo the formation of a national unity government "by any means possible."
12:45pm President Michel Suleiman received MP Walid Jumblat in Beiteddine.
11:45am Hezbollah MP Mohammed Raad: The Opposition decided not to take part except in a unity government.
10:30 NYT: At least 2000 students at Washington State University have reported symptoms of the H1N1 swine flu virus, university and local health officials said, in what appeared to be one of the largest outbreaks of the virus on a college campus
10:25 A ferry carrying more than 900 people sank in the southern Philippines Sunday. Most of the passengers have been rescued, but more than 80 are still missing and at least three died.
10:20 Apollo 11 mission commander and famed astronaut Neil Armstrong shocked reporters at a press conference in Lebanon Ohio , announcing he had been convinced that his historic first step on the moon was part of an elaborate hoax orchestrated by the United States government.
10:10 Lebanese authorities have closed down Dar al-Hadi Publishing House which was owned by Salah Ezzedine who declared bankruptcy. Ezzedine promised to pay as much as 60 % interest to some of his clients
10:00 PM-designate Saad Hariri discussed overnight the latest developments on government formation with Hezbollah official Hajj Hussein Khalil.
9:45 Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir during his Sunday sermon: Lebanon’s participation in the U.N. Security Council meeting without a new government is “not something to be proud of.”
7:25 Al Hayat : A former minister was quoted as saying that Damascus is not interested in governmental deliberations in Beirut
07:20 Al Hayat parliament majority source : Including Bassil in the cabinet will lead to a problems with the Maronite representation
07:15 Opposition sources are surprised that Hariri may announce the government formation before the opposition submits a list of its ministers
07:12, a security source told Asharq al Awsat : we handed over to the courts criminals that confessed committing terrorist acts
07:01 Al Hayat : Basil al-Hariri to meet this afternoon to follow up on the issue of government formation
06:52 "An-Nahar": Jumblatt to visit Suleiman before noon today in Beiteddine accompanied by a delegation
06:47 Al Hayat : Suleiman encouraged "Hezbollah" to facilitate Hariri ‘s role in forming the cabinet
06:33 the bodies of Bernard Fattal, Joseph Saadeh arrived from Cairo
06:30 Hariri: the people put their trust in us in the elections and genuine partnerships must be based on logic
06:20 Abu Faour told al Balad : We have not committed a coup against March 14, but we are leading a correction in their approach
06:07 al Balad : French officials are surprised that the Lebanese are urging Paris to intervene in the formation of the government
Saturday
9:01pm former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Zalmay Khalilzad arrived in Beirut
8:20pm Riad Salameh told "MTV:" with the delay in the formation of the government we will miss the opportunity to modernize the economy and the financing of projects . The Ministry of Finance is doing is duty in repayment of the debt, but The caretaker government can not be counted on to pay any additional debt
8:16pm Hunein told "Future News": The prime minister-designate needs to come up with a government formula agreed upon with the President of the Republic, who will issues the decree as agreed with the prime minister-designate
8:09 pm Alain Aoun told "or TV": Acceptance of any proposal requires it to be closer to the demands that were put forward
8:05pm Tabourian: the problem of electricity will not be solved in ten days and the amount we will get out of Egypt will not solve every problem, especially if demand increases
8:04 pm Qabbani told "LBC": Egypt will give us enough gas for the Deir Ammar plant, but may need more energy to solve the problem
8:00pm "LBC": Jumblatt plans to organize receptions and public gatherings for the president in Beiteddine and will set joint programs for the Druze and Christian concurrent holidays
