Beirut: A Cabinet minister said caretaker Prime Minister Omar Karami will step down tomorrow - for a second time in four weeks - after failing to form a new government.
The move could delay Lebanon's parliamentary elections, due to begin next month, as the whole process of government formation has to restart. But an opposition legislator said yesterday a Karami departure could actually hasten a new Cabinet.
"Prime Minister Karami proposed all possible formulas to form a national unity Cabinet, but the opposition did not agree," Environment Minister Wiam Wahhab said.
Wahhab said Karami will announce tomorrow that he is bowing out of trying to form a government.
Earlier an aide to Karami said Karami was throwing in the towel because he had failed to achieve his objective of forming a government of national unity.
Wahhab made the same point, saying the opposition "want a government only to hold elections - something that Karami rejected."
In an interview in yesterday's edition of As Safir newspaper, Karami said: "I have said, and I stick to my position, that I will not form a normal government. The circumstances are critical and they require a rescue operation in which all [parties] should participate.
"As long as these matters have not been achieved, I will inform President [Emile] Lahoud of my decision to bow out," As Safir quoted Karami as saying.
Opposition member Samir Franjieh said if Karami does step down, it could clear the way for a new Cabinet, provided there were sufficient political will.
"The opposition's priority is elections, not a new government. The opposition will facilitate the formation of any government that will help hold elections on time," Franjieh said. Other articles from Lebanon Karami likely to resign this week
kuki1234 · Wed Mar 30, 2005 @ 04:33pm · 0 Comments |