
Judge Nawaf Salam, appointed to form the government and become the prime minister of Lebanon, speaking at the Baabda Palace on January 14, 2025. (Credit: Mohammad Yassin/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — Several political parties and figures across the spectrum in Lebanon released statements on Wednesday pushing for the rapid formation of a government by Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam.
Among them was the Jaafarite Mufti Ahmad Kabalan, close to Hezbollah and the Amal Movement, who stated that "Lebanon needs a government that ensures national unity and provides answers to its crises," according to the state-run National News Agency.
"The sovereignty and unity of Lebanon are essential," Kabalan said, and warned that Lebanon is at a crossroads: the government could, "depending on its formation," either further weaken the country, or allow it to recover into a stronger position, he is cited as saying.
The FPM 'ready to facilitate things'
The political bureau of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) announced on Wednesday that it had discussed, during the party's periodic meeting presided over by leader Gebran Bassil, its "participation in the government from all angles and confirmed it was ready to facilitate things as much as possible for the formation of a government of reformers with a clear reformist and sovereign program."
"There must be no discrimination or preference among parties, but rather equity in standards among political and parliamentary forces based on their popular representation and their executive and reformist capabilities," the statement reads. "The council expressed hope that the government would be formed within a reasonable timeframe and that its ministers, declaration, and program would create the positive shock that all Lebanese eagerly await."
'Do not get lost in sectarian mazes'
"One of the first positive signals we must send to the world is the formation of the government as soon as possible," President Joseph Aoun declared, following a meeting with a delegation from the Constitutional Council on Wednesday at the Baabda Palace.
"Any procrastination in forming the future Cabinet," should be avoided, Aoun stated, and the process should not be allowed to get "lost in sectarian, confessional, and political mazes."
"We are facing a unique opportunity that we must absolutely seize, and for this, we must rise above all narrow interests to facilitate the birth of the government and the launch of the work project that awaits us," Aoun said.
The formation of the government is especially crucial to accelerating the reconstruction of areas devastated by Israeli bombardment during the war between Israel and Hezbollah, Aoun explained. "I was elected to serve the people, not for the people to serve me."
Diab and mutual assistance
Following his own meeting with Aoun, Former Lebanese Prime Minister Hassane Diab said he wished "that everyone puts their hands in those of Presidents [Joseph] Aoun and [Nawaf] Salam so that they can form a government as soon as possible," NNA reported.
Diab was prime minister from January to August 2020 and was tasked with leading Lebanon in the aftermath of large-scale protests, the collapse of its economy, and the devastating Beirut Port explosion in August 2020.
A former academic, Diab took office after the resignation of the previous government in response to mass protests at the end of 2019. He resigned after the Beirut explosion on Aug. 4, 2020, where more than 220 people were killed, over 6,500 were injured, and large parts of the capital were damaged.
On Wednesday morning, MP Walid Baarini, a member of the National Moderation bloc composed mainly of ex-Hariri Sunni MPs, wrote on the X: "Either all political forces are represented in the government according to specific criteria, or we all step down and the designated prime minister forms a government of pure technocrats, without links to political forces. And we will be the first to grant him our confidence."
Salam visited the Baabda presidential palace on Tuesday to inform Aoun, elected on Jan. 9, of the progress of forming a government, which would succeed that of Najib Mikati, who has been running a caretaker government since the legislative elections of May 2022.
In an address, the former judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), did not reveal a list of candidates or details but assured that things "were progressing well," and described as "speculation" the information circulated by the media on the distribution of ministerial portfolios.
"I am in contact with parliamentary blocs because the government needs the confidence of deputies," Salam told journalists during a press conference at Baabda. "But I am not a mailbox for blocks that send me the number [of ministers] or the desired names. I discuss and listen to these blocks, but I am the one who forms the government. This is my responsibility."
"I insisted on the application of the Constitution. And if it is a new procedure, so be it," he said. "I repeat that I have not committed to giving any portfolio to anyone. As for the Ministry of Finance, it does not belong to a specific confession and cannot be forbidden to any confession." Salam said he considers "all ministries as sovereign ministries."