Siniora discusses share alloctions in Lebanon's new government

BEIRUT - Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora held the first of two days of talks on forming a new government on Friday after an accord last week ended a protracted political crisis that turned deadly.

Siniora, 64, was appointed on Wednesday by new President Michel Sleiman to form a government of national unity in accordance with a May 21 agreement signed in Qatar by feuding factions.

Siniora first met representatives of the various parliamentary blocs, and after finishing his consultations on Saturday he will discuss the outcome with Sleiman at which point the new government is expected to be formed.

On Friday Siniora met parliament speaker Nabih Berri, who was a leader in the Hezbollah-led opposition that led an 18-month long campaign to bring down his administration.

"There is a positive atmosphere from everyone," parliamentary majority leader Saad Hariri told reporters.

Sources close to Speaker Nabih Berri  also said Friday that a late afternoon meeting between Berri and parliamentary majority leader MP Saad Hariri was "very positive." The sources added that Berri sees no obstacles facing the formation of the new government.

The Doha accord was reached after sectarian battles earlier this month left at least 65 people dead and saw the Shiite Hezbollah stage a spectacular takeover of Sunni sectors of west Beirut.

"What is happening now is a serious test to determine whether the minority actually intends to open the door to reconciliation or keep it hostage to blackmail," said Farid Makari, deputy speaker in parliament and a member of the Western-backed majority, after he met Siniora.

After talks with Siniora, Makkari said that he told the prime minister that the new government must take Lebanon from political confrontation to political dialogue.

Makari added that the cabinet must adopt the inaugural speech of President Michel Suleiman and start preparing for next year's parliamentary elections.

Under the Doha deal, the ruling bloc will have 16 seats in the new cabinet and the opposition will have 11, with the president appointing three ministers.

Cabinet seats are allocated to allow each major sect representation as well as splitting seats equally between Muslim and Christian sects.

Amal MP Anwar Al-Khalil said the goal of this requirement "to affirm and consolidate integration and avoid confessional divisions."

Meanwhile, Hizbullah MP Mohammad Raad told reporters after meeting Siniora that the Loyalty to the Resistance bloc has forwarded its requests regarding the number of ministers and the portfolios it wants in the next government.

Raad said the bloc has requested that the opposition get a Sunni minister and a Druze minister at the expense of Hizbullah's Shiite representation in the government.

The Hizbullah bloc also discussed with Siniora the prospects of the next ministerial platform. "There were no differences between our vision and Siniora's vision on the issue of the resistance," Raad said.

Media reports on Friday said that the opposition wanted to trade two Shiite ministers for a Sunni and a Druze minister.

Under such formula, Hizbullah, the Amal Movement, and the Free Patriotic Movement would give their Sunni and Druze allies the chance to take part in the government.

Meanwhile, Berri's Liberation and Development bloc insisted after talks with Siniora that the Interior Ministry portfolio in the new government should go to a neutral figure.

The next interior minister is likely to be appointed by the president as he is required to remain neutral while conducting next year's legislative elections.

Meanwhile, Murr lashed out at the opponents of his son, Defense Minister Elias Murr, saying that "Elias Murr is our candidate for the government and this is the case for a big portion of the people of Metn."

"I want to tell some lawmakers who are against appointing Elias Murr in the new government that they would not have made it to Parliament had it not been for the votes of the supporters of Elias Murr's father," he said, in an indirect criticism of members of MP Michel Aoun's Reform and Change bloc.

"It is up to Siniora and to the president to appoint Elias Murr in the ministry that best suits him," Murr added.

Aoun told reporters after meeting Siniora on Friday that his bloc wanted five ministers in the next cabinet, adding that the posts would be distributed among different Christian sects.

Meanwhile, MP Hagop Parkradounian of the Armenian bloc, which is allied with Aoun, told reporters after talks with Siniora that it wants two ministers in the next government.

Pakradounian said that former minister Alain Tabourian was one of the bloc's nominees for the next government.

Meanwhile, the different blocs representing the March 14 Forces maintained a low profile regarding their demands in the next government.

Hariri only told reporters that the general atmosphere was positive, while Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt said he preferred not to make any comment. MP George Adwan, representing the Lebanese Forces bloc, also declined to reveal the number of ministers requested by his bloc.

However, the Tripoli bloc, headed by MP Mohammad Safadi, requested that Safadi remain in his post as public works and transportation minister.

Lebanon's political crisis began in November 2006 with the resignation of all the Shiite ministers in Siniora's cabinet, which the opposition then said made the government illegitimate.

Lawmakers leaving sessions with Siniora on Friday expressed reserved optimism that forming the new government will proceed more smoothly than expected.

Sleiman, Lebanon's army chief for the past 10 years, formally reappointed Siniora after wrapping up consultations on Wednesday and the new government is expected to be formed within a week.

Forming the government and Sunday's election of Sleiman as president are seen as major steps towards reviving the country's institutions that were left largely paralysed because of the political stand-off.

The deal brokered in the Qatari capital gave veto power to the opposition in the cabinet and calls for a new electoral law for legislative elections next year.

The violence that preceded the Doha deal was sparked by government measures against Hezbollah that were eventually rescinded, and was the worst sectarian unrest since the end of Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war. -With Agencies