Jumblatt: We’ll see

Democratic Gathering bloc leader MP Walid Jumblatt told AFP on Thursday that it is too early to say whom the bloc will nominate for the country’s premiership.

“When the consultations on naming a new premier begin, we’ll see.”

Hariri’s “March 14″ coalition won a majority in the 128-seat assembly in a 2009 election, but Jumblatt who was a central figure in the Cedar Revolution has since defected. He claimed initially that he will be a centrist , but during the past few months he has been leaning more towards the Hezbollah led opposition, but…. unlike Hezbollah his 3 ministers did not resign from the cabinet on Wednesday

The parliamentary arithmetic is now uncertain, but it might be hard to find a credible Sunni politician to replace Hariri.

Lebanon’s government is dissolved when more than one third of its 30 cabinet members resign, and on Wednesday all 10 ministers belonging to the Iranian backed Hezbollah-led opposition announced their resignations. Hours later, they were joined by an eleventh minister representing Lebanese president Michel Suleiman, forcing the collapse of PM Saad Hariri’s government.

Saudi and Syrian officials have reportedly been working on a compromise that would resolve tensions in Lebanon over the imminent Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) indictment . Reports say that the STL may soon indict Hezbollah members in its investigation of the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese PM Rafik Hariri, father of Saad the current prime minister.

Hezbollah asked MP Michel Aoun to announce on Tuesday the failure of the Saudi-Syrian initiative and to blame March 14 alliance for the failure.

Lebanon’s president asked Hariri to stay on as caretaker prime minister on Thursday after Hezbollah ministers and their allies resigned in a dispute over an investigation into the killing of Hariri’s father. A statement issued by President Michel Suleiman called on the government to “continue in a caretaker capacity until a new government is formed”.

Hezbollah according to reports has someone else in mind to lead the new government . Hezbollah MP Mohammed Raad unveiled on Thursday that the March 8 forces will name a personality with a history of national resistance to head the new government . Raad told reporters after meeting former President Emile Lahoud in response to a question on who will that be : “A personality with a national resistance biography, ” Raad said