Berri sets Jan. 27, 28 for parliament consultations

Following the appointment of MP Najib Mikati as PM Designate the office of parliament Speaker Nabih Berri announced that Thursday January 27 and Friday January 28 were set as the dates for parliament consultations over the formation of the new government .

The consultations will be held at the parliament building in down town Beirut according to the following program:

I – Thursday, 01/27/2011

Speaker Nabih Berri (11.00 am) – Outgoing PM Saad Hariri (11.20 am) – MP Michel Aoun time (11.40am) Former PM Fouad Siniora (at 12 , 00noon ) , Deputy Speaker Farid Makari (12.20 pm)

-Amal Movement bloc (Development and Liberation Bloc) (at 12.40). The bloc includes Speaker Nabih Berri, Anwar Khalil, Ayub Hamid, Abd al-Latif al-Zein, Abdul Majid Saleh, Ali Bazzi, Ali Hassan Khalil, Ali Khreis, Ali Osseiran, Ghazi Zaiter, Michel Moussa, Hani Qubeisi and Yassin Jaber.

Future Movement bloc at 1.00pm and includes Outgoing PM Saad Hariri, MPs Ahmad Fatfat, Basem al Shab, Badr Kamel Mohammad Wannous, Bahia Hariri, Jamal Jarrah, Ameen Wehbe, Khaled Zahrman, Khaled Daher, Fouad Siniora, Ziad Kadri, Sameer Jisr, Atef Majdalani, Ammar Houry, Nuhad Mashnouq, Hadi Hubeish, Muhammad Qabbani, Riad Rahhal, Farid Makari,Moeen Mura’bi, Nabil de Freij, Nidal Tohmeh, , Nicolas Ghosn, Ghazi Youssef, Kazem al Kheir, Khoder Habib, Mohammed Kabbara, Okab Sakr and Assem Araji.

Free Patriotic Movement bloc (at 1.20) and includes MPs Michel Aoun, Ibrahim Kanaan, Edgar Maalouf, Alain Aoun, Gilbert Zwein, Hikmat Deeb, Ziad Aswad, Salim Salhab, Simon Abi Ramia, Issam Sawaya, Ghassan Moukheiber, Fred Elias Khazen, Michelle Helou, Nabil Nicola, the Naamat Allah Abi Nasr, Walid Khoury, Youssef Khalil and Abbas Hashim.

Hezbollah’s Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc (at 4.30 pm) and includes MPs Mohammad Raad, Hassan Fadlallah, Hussein Hajj Hassan, Hussein Musawi, Ali Ammar, Ali Fayyad, Ali Mokdad, Kamel al-Rifai, Mohammad Fneish, Nawar Sahili, Nawaf Moussawi and Walid Sukkarieh

National Struggle Front ( formerly Democratic Gathering bloc) (at 4.50 pm) and includes MPs Walid Jumblatt, Akram Chehayeb, Elie Aoun, Aladdin Terou, Ghazi Aridi, Nehmeh Tohmeh and Wael Abu Faour.

MP Michel Murr’s bloc (at 5.10 pm) and includes MPs Michel Murr and Nayla Tueni.

Zahle in our heart bloc (at 5.30pm ) and includes MPs Tony Abou Khater, Joseph Maalouf, Shant Jngenian, Okab Sakr, Assem Araji, Eli Maroni.

Lebanese Forces bloc (at 5.50 pm) and includes MPs Antoine Zahra, Eli Queiroz, George Adwan, Strida Geagea, Farid Habib, Tony Abou Khater, Joseph Maalouf and Shant Jngenian.

Phalange Party bloc (at 6.10pm) and includes MPs Sami Gemayel, Samer Saadeh, Fadi El-Habr and Nadim Gemayel.

Mountain unity bloc (at 6.30pm) and includes MPs Talal Arslan, Fadi-Awar, Naji Gharios and Bilal Farhat

Marada’s Free & united Lebanon bloc (at 6.50 pm) and includes MPs Suleiman Franjieh, Emile Rahme, Stephan Doueihi and Salim Karam.

Free Decision bloce (at 7.10pm ) and includes MPs Michel Pharaon, Serge Torsarkissian, Nadim Gemayel, Jean Augaspian.

Armenian reconciliation bloc (at 7.30pm) and includes MPs Jean Augaspian, Sebouh Qabakian and Serge Torsarkissian.

Baath Party bloc (at 7.50pm ) and includes MPs Assem Qanso and Qassem Hashem.

Syrian Social Nationalist Party( SSNP) bloc (at 8.10 pm) and MPs Asaad Hardan and Marwan Fares.

Friday 1/28/2011

National reconciliation bloc (at 9.00 am ) and includes MP Mohammed Safadi

Armenians bloc (at 9.10 am ) and includes MPs Artheuer Nezerian and Hagop Pakradonian.

Jemaah Islamiah bloc (at 9.20 am ) and includes: MP Imad al-Hout.

Independents at (9.30am ) and includes MPs Boutros Harb (9.30 am) Tammam Salam (9.40 am) Robert Ghanem (9.50 am) Qassim Abdul-Aziz ( 10.00 am) Dory Chamoun time (10.10am) Robert Fadel (at 10 , 20 am) Marwan Hamadeh (at 10.30 am) Henry Helou (at 10.40am) Fouad Saad time (10.50am ) Mohammed Hajjar time (11.00am ) { all 4 MPs were former members of the Democratic Gathering bloc ) Antoine Saad (11.10 am) Ahmad Karami (time 11.20 am ) Nicolas Fattoush (at 11.30am).

Mikati

PM-designate Najib Mikati said during an interview with OTV on Thursday that forming a technocrat government is one of the options, but it’s not the only one that he intends to pursue.

“I don’t see the mission of forming a government as impossible and all pending issues will be discussed inside institutions in a bid to find consensual solutions.” He said

Asked about when he expects his government will be formed and who will be in it he said:

“I have not committed myself to a deadline as to forming a new Cabinet. I haven’t been informed that Hezbollah won’t take part in the government, I’ve only learned that it will participate should the new government be non-technocratic.”

According to Ahmad Said a Lebanese observer ” Hezbollah may not want to participate directly in order not to repeat the same mistake Hamas did in Gaza ( You break it, you own it ) , but regardless, all Hezbollah allies that will participate will be a rubber stamp for Hezbollah.”

The resignation of former state minister Adnan al Sayyed who represented president Michel Suleiman caused the collapse of PM Saad Hariri’s government after all the Hezbollah backed ministers resigned

Lebanon’s power-sharing system calls for a Sunni prime minister , a Shiite parliament speaker and a Christian Maronite president.

Mikati, backed by Hezbollah and its March 8 allies , was appointed Tuesday by president Michel Suleiman as PM-designate to form and head the next cabinet , giving Hezbollah and its allies increased leverage in the country and provoking widespread protests.

“Whoever killed Rafik Hariri in 2005 doesn’t want Saad Hariri to be in power,” Hariri said Wednesday during an interview with the New York Times, in reference to Hezbollah which is backed by Iran and Syria.

“What’s happening today is that they are trying to achieve what they wanted to achieve in 2005,” Hariri added in reference to the coup that brought down his government

Mikati did confirm that he was nominated to protect Hezbollah. He told AFP on Tuesday : “My nomination by Hezbollah does not make me committed to any political stance other than protecting the Resistance.” This was a possible reference to Hezbollah’s five point plan.

Hezbollah brought down Hariri’s government on January 12 over the Special Tribunal for Lebanon’s ( STL) indictment which is widely expected to implicate Hezbollah members in the assassination of former PM Rafik Hariri in 2005 .

According to analysts the issue in Lebanon is not who is Mikati as much as how did Mikati get nominated and by whom.