NOURNEWS - In an interview with Press TV, a Lebanese expert on Middle East issues Faisal Abdel Sater described the reasons for the Lebanese parties' failure of forming a government and the scenarios ahead after Hariri's resignation.
Abdel Sater said that since the withdrawal of Syrian forces from Lebanon, Lebanese have not been able to form a government like during the presence of these forces, adding that this was due to differences between the political spectrums on various issues and conflicts between political plans and projects. He said the differences had escalated since the 2006 war and the Doha agreement in 2008, as well as after the 2011 invasion of Syria, and peaked between 2016 and 2021.
Abdel Sater added that after Hariri's resignation in October 2019, Lebanon experienced more political and economic crises, one of the most important of which was the massive explosion in Beirut, which led to the resignation of Hassan Diab's government.
Referring to the challenges after Diab's resignation and the appointment of Saad Hariri to form a government after him, the political analyst said that one of the most important obstacles to forming a government was the stone-throwing of Saudi Arabia, which Hariri could not overcome. He added that Hariri spent nine months in other countries trying to restore relations with Saudi Arabia, but failed until his resignation.
Abdul Sater said: "I believe that all of Hariri's excuses after he stated that the problems were internal and that some politicians were aligned with this could not be true, and the evidence suggests that the problems are not internal, especially since Hezbollah tried very hard to prevent the formation of a government.
Abdul Sater added that Saad Hariri did not support all the efforts of Hezbollah and the Free National Movement to form a government due to the Saudi sabotage and successive vetoes. Even after his resignation, he launched an unprecedented attack on Hezbollah in his press conference, and it is clear that he tried to please Saudi Arabia, but his attempt failed because everyone knows that his actions are political. The resignation is trying in vain to bring the Lebanese into conflict, while Hezbollah has stated that it will not enter into these conflicts.
Noting that no solution has been proposed yet and no specific figure has been agreed upon, Faisal Abdul Sater added: "This path faces many obstacles at the level of the parliamentary spectrum, which is one of the biggest obstacles for Hariri and the former prime ministers." Faisal Abdul Sater added that Saudi Arabia is looking for another person by leaving out Hariri, which would be coordinated by the French and the Americans.
The political analyst added that currently all Lebanese political spectrums are thinking of forming a government that will prepare for the parliamentary elections in the remaining time and the reason for Saad Hariri's attack on Hezbollah and accusing the movement of destroying relations with Arab countries and its role. It is the same in domestic cases.
Abdul Sater stated that without agreeing on a specific person, achieving the formation of a government will be impossible and will face challenges and insecurity in the country, he added, adding that some politicians, including Geagea, are currently considering a government to hold parliamentary elections and increase parliamentary seats.
In this regard, he said Jumblatt pursues a rational policy of political calm, and these are generally three scenarios facing Lebanon. Among these scenarios is the existence of a prime minister whose mission is to make preparations for parliamentary elections and to maintain the government's authority to hold parliamentary elections if the parliamentary spectrum agrees, and the last scenario is the absence of a government and uncertainty and creating chaos and insecurity.
NOURNEWS