Lebanese politicians cast aside differences to agree on government to address crisis | THE DAILY TRIBUNE | KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN

  • Date: 11-Sep-2021
  • Source: The Daily Tribune - News of Bahrain
  • Sector:Economy
  • Country:Lebanon
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Lebanese politicians cast aside differences to agree on government to address crisis | THE DAILY TRIBUNE | KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN

Finally, Lebanese leaders agreed to form a government after feuding for a year over cabinet seats, which pushed the already battered country to the verge of a devastating collapse. The breakthrough followed interventions by France, which led the efforts to get the fractious leaders to agree on the cabinet seats and begin reforms stalled since last year’s catastrophic Beirut port explosion. Prime Minister Najib Mikati and President Michel Aoun signed a decree establishing the government in the presence of Nabih Berri, speaker of parliament, the presidency said. Youssef Khalil, a senior central bank official and aide to governor Riad Salameh, was named finance minister in the proposed new cabinet line-up. The country hit a crunch point last month when fuel shortages brought much of the country to a standstill, triggering numerous security incidents, mounting concern in the West and warnings of worse to come unless action is taken. Like the outgoing cabinet of Prime Minister Hassan Diab, the new one is expected to comprise ministers with technical expertise who are not prominent politicians but have been named by the main parties. The heavily armed, Hezbollah, a political ally of Aoun, which is designated a terrorist group by the United States,