MIDDLE EAST:After 18 months of crisis a government of national unity has been agreed in Beirut, writes Michael Jansen
LEBANON HAS announced a 30-member national unity government 18 months after the withdrawal of the Hizbullah-led opposition from the cabinet sparked the worst crisis the country has seen since the 1975-90 civil war.
Portfolios were announced yesterday after a nationwide address by Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, who then submitted the list for approval to President Michel Suleiman, the former army chief elected by parliament on May 21st following mediation by Qatar.
"The government of national unity is the government of all the Lebanese," Mr Siniora stated repeatedly during a press conference at the presidential palace.
He said the new government, which is expected to have a 10-month mandate, would have two key tasks. Firstly, it would be called upon "to restore confidence in political institutions and the Lebanese political system".
Secondly, it was expected to adopt a new "fair and unbiased" electoral law, based on 1960 legislation, and to prepare for next spring's parliamentary election.
"Our differences will not be resolved overnight," Mr Siniora admitted, "but we have decided to resolve them through institutions and dialogue rather than in the streets." Five Lebanese were killed on Wednesday in the northern city of Tripoli.
The deal clinched in Doha allocated 16 seats to the Western-supported parliamentary majority headed by Saad Hariri, son of the murdered premier Rafik Hariri, and 11 to the opposition. Because a majority in the cabinet is two-thirds, the opposition is in effect given a veto, its key demand.
Hizbullah does not want to be ordered to disarm and disband its military wing, which it claims is essential for Lebanon's defence. And the opposition is not prepared to accept sidelining by the ruling majority, the reason for its withdrawal in late 2007.
Although the US still considers Hizbullah a terrorist group, its approval of the national unity formula is seen by analysts as a climb-down by the Bush administration, which had encouraged Mr Siniora and the ruling coalition to try to govern without the opposition.
Three key ministers, including interior and defence, were appointed by Mr Suleiman.
Last-minute infighting over posts in the ruling camp postponed the announcement of the cabinet. On Thursday, parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri, who has been at the centre of deal-making for many months, expressed the feelings of most Lebanese when he vented his frustration over the politicians' inability to come to terms.
The breakthrough came when Mr Hariri expressed his willingness to accept the nomination of Ali Kanso, a former head of the opposition Syrian Social National Party (SSNP), who was rejected because of the party's participation in the street fighting in May which killed 65 people and prompted the politicians to seek Qatar's mediation. The SSNP is a pan-Arab party closely tied to Damascus.
The recent rehabilitation of Syria, which is blamed by the West for the murder of Rafik Hariri, is viewed as an external factor promoting reconciliation between Lebanon's feuding camps.
Syrian president Bashar al-Assad is expected to reassert his country's central role in Middle East politics tomorrow at the summit of Mediterranean leaders convening in Paris.