Berri calls for plenary session to hold general policy debate on government next week

BEIRUT — Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri called on Wednesday for a plenary session to hold a general policy debate on the government next Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the state-run National News Agency.

Berri had initially set the sessions on Monday and Tuesday. However, Kataeb leader Sami Gemayel contacted Berri, asking to postpone Monday's session to Tuesday, as Monday coincides with the anniversary of the assassination of President-elect Bachir Gemayel. Gemayel, founder of the Lebanese Forces, was killed in a car bomb attack in Beirut on Sept. 14, 1982, three weeks after being elected president.

Berri agreed to Gemayel's request, rescheduling the sessions to Tuesday and Wednesday.

The first general policy debate on Salam's government took place in July 2025, just five months after the cabinet was formed. During this session, the Cabinet secured the Parliament's vote of confidence with 69 votes in support, nine votes against and four abstentions. This was the first general policy debate since 2017.

Both general policy debates, the one held in July 2025 as well as the one scheduled for next week, were requested by Free Patriotic Movement leader Gebran Bassil. The Batroun MP, who never misses an opportunity to criticize the government, once again called for vote of confidence, an attempt he had already made in July 2025, without success.