by Dana Halawi
BEIRUT, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- Newly appointed Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri may face multiple obstacles in forming an independent cabinet capable of implementing necessary reforms to save the country from its current collapse, experts say.
Lebanon named on Thursday Hariri as the new prime minister with 65 votes out of 128, much lower than the 122 votes he won in 2009, reflecting the divisions currently prevailing among political parties in the country.
"Hariri's mission is very difficult and complicated. I believe it will be hard for the prime minister to form an independent cabinet. What will encourage the different political parties to facilitate Hariri's mission as they had placed hurdles facing former Prime Minister Mustapha Adib's task?" Youssef Diab, political analyst from the Lebanese University, told Xinhua.
The appointment of Hariri comes after the failure of Adib to form a new cabinet.
Adib was appointed on Aug. 31 following the resignation of caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab's cabinet after the blasts that rocked capital Beirut on Aug. 4.
However, Adib's efforts faced obstacles, including the insistence by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, backed by Hezbollah, to hold on to the Finance Ministry by appointing a Shiite minister in addition to naming potential Shiite ministers in the new cabinet.
Hariri hopes to form an independent government as stated by an initiative launched by French President Emmanuel Macron last month.
But Youssef believes that Hariri will face more obstacles than Adib since Gebran Bassil, head of the Free Patriotic Movement, who holds a big share in the parliament, may want to name his ministers in the cabinet, same as Hezbollah and Amal Movement.
Assaad Bechara, a political advisor to former Lebanese Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi, told Xinhua that Hariri will either form a cabinet with conditions imposed by Hezbollah, which will deprive Lebanon of donations by the international community and cause further collapse for the country's economy, or will have to apologize due to obstacles placed in his way by Hezbollah and other parties.
Meanwhile, the experts see a big role of the U.S. presidential elections on government formation in Lebanon.
Youssef believes that the results of the U.S. elections will lead to different attitudes towards Lebanon's cabinet which involves Hezbollah.
According to Bechara, Hezbollah is waiting to see the results to re-arrange their policies accordingly.
"But, in my opinion, the United States has only one strict strategy towards Iran regardless of who comes to office, a clear demand to form a cabinet in Lebanon that excludes Hezbollah," Bechara said.
However, lawyer and political analyst Joseph Abou Fadel believes that Hariri has great chances to form an independent cabinet of 20 ministers in Lebanon.
"People are fed up; they just want to live peacefully," he said.
Lebanon has been going through its worst economic and financial crisis with unemployment rate exceeding 30 percent and poverty rate standing at over 55 percent.
The country is in dire need for a cabinet capable of implementing reforms that enable the country to unlock billions of dollars in funds while attracting investment to save it from further collapse.
Experts argue that Lebanese political parties should put their differences aside and facilitate Hariri's mission, otherwise Lebanon will probably witness chaos. Enditem
