The Arab countries, traditionally considered Saad al-Hariri’s ally, no longer support him and are the most important obstacle in the way of forming a cabinet.
Nearly six months after Saad al-Hariri was elected Lebanese prime minister, he has yet to form a cabinet, and Lebanese circles consider Saad al-Hariri‘s foreign allies to be the main culprits.
According to the publication, anyone who hears Arab envoys and diplomats speak in the corridors of the presidential palace does not believe that the Arab countries want Saad al-Hariri as prime minister. The ambassador of one of the most important countries in the region has explicitly told a Lebanese official that his country does not approve of Hariri, but there is no alternative to him at the moment.
According to the publication, this is a summary of the position of the Arab countries towards Saad al-Hariri, the point is that Hezbollah and the Amal movement are with him more than al-Hariri. A source affiliated with the two Shiite groups told the publication: “We are dealing with the reality, Prime Minister al-Hariri is obliged to form a cabinet, and we understand his difficult situation. However, he himself is clearly obstructing the formation of the government. An individual needs domestic guarantees and regional and international consent to form a government. “Al-Hariri seeks to form a government that can receive sufficient financial facilities to resolve the economic crisis, but we are not in a normal situation, if we were in a normal situation, the government would be formed from day one.”
Hezbollah and the Amal movement continue to support Saad al-Hariri and are not considering any other option. Arab officials, ostensibly Saad al-Hariri‘s allies, meet with Lebanese officials and ask them to seek the views of Hezbollah and the Amal movement on replacing someone else, but Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah and Nabih Berri are clearly supporters of Saad al-Hariri.
According to the publication, high-ranking Arab sources have said that they do not support or oppose al-Hariri, but at the same time they do not want to introduce another option.
According to the report, the formation of a government in Lebanon will not be finalized until a regional, international and Arab agreement is reached.
On the other hand, informed sources in Lebanon told Al-Banna newspaper that the government crisis [and the formation of a new cabinet] is complex and that the main point of the problem is foreign.
The Lebanese newspaper quoted its sources as saying that the main issue is Saudi Arabia’s opposition to Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri. Therefore, Saad al-Hariri is hesitant that if he announces the formation of a new government, he will not face the explosion of several crises and he will be declared responsible for it.
Lebanon has been without a government since last summer, when the port of Beirut witnessed a major and devastating explosion, and is run by the Diab Account. The Diab government resigned after the explosion and increased pressure, and the Lebanese parliamentary parties have not yet agreed on a new government.
Following the Beirut incident, Saad al-Hariri, leader of the Tiar al-Mustaqbal party and former Lebanese prime minister, was finally elected to form the new Lebanese government on October 22, 2020; however, he has so far failed to finalize his cabinet and establish himself as the country’s new prime minister.