Geagea: The cabinet should have been formed 4 months ago

During a meeting with reporters in Maarab, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea accused the March 8 alliance of ignoring the country’s needs by focusing strictly on Hezbollah rather than forming a strong state.

“Some in the other team ( March 8) consider that their party is the most important and for this reason all state institutions should be devoted to serve the interest of the resistance . “Geagea said adding:  ” Some  parties of the other team  do not even recognize the existence of the state”.  In a possible reference to Hezbollah

Geagea stressed : “No one in the other team ( March 8) is looking on how to build the state, that’s why it would be difficult to reach an understanding on how to form the cabinet.”

He said the cabinet should have been formed 4 months ago and criticized Speaker Nabih Berri’s efforts:

“What Berri is doing is a waste of time” , in reference to Berri’s call for a parliament session aimed at bypassing the functions of the cabinet.

“Lebanon is badly in need of a government and the only solution to our existing problems is (to bring) a technocrat cabinet that deals with the economic and social issues,” he said adding : “A one-sided cabinet would make things worse.”

Geagea said his party does not take orders from anyone and criticized March alliance for seeking solution elsewhere.

Addressing the issue of dialogue he said:

“Any political dialogue should take into account the new realities of the region and any discussions during the dialogue talks should be based on the fact that we are all part of the state and the only resistance is the resistance by the state ( the Army) and the people and the dialogue should stem from the fact that all decisions must be made by the state.”

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

Lebanon has been run by a caretaker government since last January. Nagib Mikati was appointed in January as the PM designate with the backing of the Hezbollah led-March 8 alliance, MPs Jumblatt and Mohammad Safadi . March 14 leaders have repeatedly said that intimidation from Hezbollah’s weapons helped secure the parliamentary majority for Mikati’s nomination.