Despite pressure, the president and PM-designate stand their ground

After his roughly hour-long meeting with President Joseph Aoun in the Baabda Palace on Wednesday, Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam stressed on Wednesday that he would not back down from the criteria he set for forming the new government, which is to replace that of caretaker PM Najib Mikati, who has been in caretaker status since May 2022.“I will not compromise on any of the criteria I defined from day one: a Cabinet based on the principle of separation between Parliament and the government, composed of highly qualified national figures, without candidates for municipal or parliamentary elections, and without representation of political parties,” Salam told reporters.His statement reiterated the same points he outlined after his previous meeting with the president last week, suggesting that the obstacles preventing the formation of...