Dubai: Pro-government and opposition groups will battle it out Monday as President Michel Sulaiman kicks off talks in the Lebanese parliament on the appointment of a new prime minister after the Hezbollah-led opposition brought down the unity government of Sa'ad Hariri earlier this month.
Over the weekend, Druze leader and kingmaker Walid Junblatt announced his support for Hezbollah's coalition, further weakening Hariri. Junblatt has 11 seats in parliament, Hariri's coalition has 60 seats and the opposition has 57.
Hezbollah must secure eight seats outside its coalition to impose its choice of premier. Officials expect the 128 votes to be evenly divided with Junblatt emerging as kingmaker should he manage to clinch the backing of seven of his MPs.
Hariri has announced that he would stand for a second term although Hezbollah and its allies have ruled out his reappointment.
Ahead of the parliamentary talks, Lebanon's Sunni religious leaders have warned Hezbollah not to ignore their opinion. The clerics, led by Grand Mufti Mohammad Rashid Qabbani, the Sunnis' spiritual leader in Lebanon, said after a meeting that they support Hariri because he represents the Sunni majority.
"We warn against ignoring the Sunni majority and the parliament majority," the leaders said in a statement. "We also warn against the dangers of an imposed government."
Salehi in Syria
Also yesterday, Iran's acting foreign minister, Ali Akbar Salehi, arrived in Damascus for talks with Syrian officials on the political crisis in Lebanon. Salehi is expected to meet President Bashar Al Assad today.
Lebanon has been particularly tense the past few months ahead of the UN Special Tribunal's verdict on former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri's assassination. The tribunal is expected to indict Hezbollah members for the killing.
Experts say even one vote could tip the scales from a Hariri-led government to a cabinet under the command of a premier chosen by Hezbollah, reported to be veteran politician Omar Karami.
International diplomatic efforts are still under way to contain the crisis but analysts are predicting a protracted deadlock that could lead to sectarian violence.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah last night in a televised address lashed out at the prosecutor of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL). He blasted Daniel Bellemare for deciding to threaten to prosecute any side that leaks any information about the indictment, which he submitted to pre-trial judge Daniel Fransen last week.
"What is really strange is that years have passed since the details of the international investigation have been leaked to the press and Bellemare remained silent. This was because all the leaks were serving the purpose of targeting Hezbollah and Syria," he said.
Bellemare submitted his indictment last Monday at a time when binding consultations were scheduled; this was part of the politicisation of the STL, he said.
