Prime Minister Hassan Diab put his government in a new confrontation, as he accused sectarian authorities and politicians of covering up corruption. “Corruption in Lebanon enjoys the protection of politicians and sectarian authorities,” Diab said on Monday. His remarks came during a meeting of the anti-corruption ministerial committee, which was chaired by President Michel Aoun. “Despite the corruption that infiltrated every artery in the state, there is no corrupt that was held accountable,” he added. Diab’s criticism of the religious authorities is unprecedented in the relationship between Lebanon’s prime minister and the country’s religious references. He was referring to recent comments by Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, who said that attack on Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh would only hurt the country, amid a growing debate over whether the bank governor should resign or not. “We ask: who benefits from the destabilization of the central bank governorship? The beneficiary himself knows,” said Rai. “We know the dire outcome, which is eliminating the confidence of the Lebanese people and (foreign) states in the constitutional foundations of the state.” Sources in Bkerke told Asharq Al-Awsat that the patriarch was annoyed by Diab’s remarks. “It seems that he did not carefully read the sermon given by the Patriarch,” the sources said. It is important that Diab correct his position, they emphasized, adding that the Patriarch was keen to prevent any rift and avoid political tensions. Aoun, for his part, said during Monday’s meeting that any fight against corruption “cannot be temporary, partial or selective” so that corrupts do not “seek the protection of religious or political leaders to dodge accountability.”