Lebanon’s PM designate Saad Hariri says won’t form govt

Lebanon’s PM designate Saad Hariri says won’t form govt

BEIRUT: Lebanon's prime minister-designate Saad Hariri stepped down yesterday, saying he was unable to form a government, nine months after accepting the challenge and as the country sinks deeper into crisis. Donors remain adamant that a government must be formed before they can open credit lines, but political squabbling has repeatedly stymied efforts at compromise, leaving over half the population living below the global poverty line.

Hariri had been nominated for the post in October 2020, following a devastating explosion at Beirut port in August caused by unsafely stored fertilizer, that killed more than 200 people and forced the previous government to resign. "I met with the president, and we had (a) consultation on the issue of the government," Hariri said yesterday, referring to Lebanon's President Michel Aoun.

"There were amendments requested by the president, which I considered substantial in the line-up," Hariri added. "It is clear that the position (of Aoun) has not changed"¦ and that we will not be able to agree," he said. He noted that he had offered to spend more time trying to form a cabinet, but he had also been told by the president that "we will not be able to agree." "That's why I apologized