Recent efforts exerted by Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri have failed to make a breakthrough in the government formation process. The stalled talks came as an MP from the Strong Lebanon parliamentary bloc of Foreign Minister and FPM leader Jebran Bassil said, “We are about to remove all obstacles facing the cabinet formation process.” In light of the stalemate, Hariri issued on Friday a circular, clarifying circular 21/2018 issued on June 7, and which calls on caretaker ministers to comply with article 64 of the Constitution in performing their governmental duties. MP Salim Aoun from the Strong Lebanon bloc said on Friday that the cabinet formation is not the responsibility of one team. “All parties have the right to present their demands, and the solution remains in the hands of President Michel Aoun and PM-designate Saad Hariri,” he explained. Speaking about the ties between the FPM and the Lebanese Forces, Aoun said that an agreement previously struck between the two sides is still holding. The delay in the cabinet formation process is mainly due to the representation of Christians amid conflicting demands by the LF from one side and the FPM and President Aoun from another side. The LF wants the seat of the deputy Prime Minister, whereas the president says it is his right to appoint him and some other ministers in order to monitor the cabinet’s work. Also, Bassil, who is Aoun’s son-in-law, wants the FPM to retain the strongest Christian representation in the new cabinet by strongly rejecting demands by the LF to be represented by more than three ministerial portfolios. Member of the Strong Republic parliamentary bloc MP George Okeiss said the LF has offered several proposals in the past two days to facilitate the formation of the government. “What are the reasons preventing the LF from getting the seat of the deputy PM?” he asked. The lawmaker stressed that the current phase is not about political disputes and constitutional powers, but should rather be aimed at solving economic problems and the issue of Syrian refugees. “Those difficulties require the swift formation of a unified government,” Okeiss said.