Two weeks after PM-designate Saad Hariri presented to President Michel Aoun a cabinet draft proposal, no developments have emerged at the level of the formation process. “The cabinet formation file is going slower than the speed of a turtle,” MP Chamel Roukoz from the Strong Lebanon bloc said Sunday. “All parties are responsible for this delay,” he said, adding that the Lebanese people were paying the price, particularly at the economic level. The deputy said in case all parties agree on a formula, the cabinet could be formed in just two days. However, he said any debate over the Presidents share in the government is out of the question. On Sunday, the Free Patriotic Movement announced its adherence to the nomination of Hariri. However, one of the movement’s members, MP Salim Aoun said the Strong Lebanon bloc would not give up its ministerial demands. “We are trying to keep the door open to a solution,” he said, expressing his optimism about the near birth of a government. On Sunday, the Mufti of Tripoli and Northern Lebanon, Sheikh Malik Al-Shaar, reiterated his support for the Sunni Prime Minister. At the same time, he said his position should not be explained as standing against the President, the Speaker or the Army Commander. Meanwhile, Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros Rai reemphasized the need for an "emergency government to be formed based on internal unity and reconciliation."


 The Patriarch called on President Aoun and PM Hariri to speed up the formation of a new government for the sake of the country.


 "Its unacceptable to leave the country in a stalemate in the absence of a new government," Rai said during his pastoral visit to Baasir village on Sunday. The Prelate also appealed to officials to rise above their personal interests and narrow calculations if they truly wish to carry out any beneficial initiative far from quota sharing.