Hariri and Aoun trade barbs as Lebanese Cabinet talks collapse

Mr Hariri accused the president of blocking the cabinet formation by seeking veto power in the government

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  Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri arrives to meet with Lebanon's President Michel Aoun at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon. Reuters

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  Lebanese President Michel Aoun meeting with Prime Minister-designate Saad Al Hariri at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon. EPA

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  Prime Minister-designate Saad Al Hariri speaking to the media after his meeting with Lebanese President Michel Aoun at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut. EPA

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  Prime Minister-designate Saad Al Hariri speaks to media after his meeting with Lebanese President Michel Aoun at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut. EPA

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  Supporters of Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri block a road link to the international airport in Beirut. AP Photo

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  Supporters of Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri block a road link to Beirut international airport in Beirut. AP Photo

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  A Lebanese soldier removes burning tires placed by supporters of Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri to block a road link to Beirut international airport in Beirut. AP Photo

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  Lebanese soldiers remove burning tires placed by supporters of Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri to block a road link to Beirut international airport in Beirut. AP Photo

Lebanon's President Michel Aoun and prime minister-designate Saad Hariri failed to make a breakthrough on forming a Cabinet in negotiations on Monday.

Their meeting – the 18th since Mr Hariri was tasked with forming a Cabinet last October – ended with the pair trading accusations in public.

Mr Hariri accused the president of blocking the formation of a Cabinet by seeking veto power in the government.

Mr Aoun denied this and counter-claimed that the prime minister-designate may himself be trying to thwart the formation of a Cabinet "for unknown reasons".

Speaking to reporters, Mr Hariri said he turned down incomplete Cabinet proposals the president had shared with him on Sunday because they guaranteed Mr Aoun over a third of the Cabinet seats – granting him veto power to block any Cabinet decision.

“First, it’s not the president’s job to form the Cabinet," Mr Hariri said.

"Second, our constitution clearly states that the prime minister-designate forms the Cabinet and selects the names and then discusses it with the president.”

Mr Hariri, who has insisted on the formation of a Cabinet of non-partisan experts, made public the 18-member line-up that Mr Aoun turned down more than three months ago.

“I have one aim, to put an end to the meltdown and the Lebanese people’s suffering," Mr Hariri said.

"I asked the president to listen to the Lebanese people’s agony and give the country its only and last chance through forming a Cabinet of experts that can implement reforms and halt the meltdown.”

The delay in forming the Cabinet has plunged Lebanon deeper into one of its worst financial crises since the civil war ended some 30 years ago.

Hours before the president’s meeting with Mr Hariri, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Europe “must be ready” as Lebanon edges towards collapse.

Mr Le Drian, like many Western officials, has repeatedly sounded the alarm over the worsening political and economic crises engulfing Lebanon.

But international financial support is dependent upon the country forming a Cabinet that agrees to undertake reforms.

Lebanese politicians promised French President Emanuel Macron that they would introduce reforms almost seven months ago, when he visited the country following the Beirut port explosion that killed more than 200 people, destroyed thousands of properties and toppled the government.

Now, France is considering imposing sanctions against Lebanese politicians, a French diplomatic source told The National last week.

Mr Hariri, who has vowed not to yield to pressure by Mr Aoun and his allies, said he was waiting for the president to take the necessary steps to contain the crisis.

His remarks come a few days after the leader of the Iran-backed Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, a staunch ally of Mr Aoun, asked Mr Hariri in a televised speech to consider a Cabinet of both experts and politicians who could manage the crisis.

According to the constitution, Mr Aoun and Mr Hariri’s signature on the Cabinet formation decree is required before the government can seek a vote of confidence in Parliament where Hezbollah and its allies hold a majority.