BEIRUT: Prime Minister Tammam Salam said Sunday he would not call for a Cabinet session Thursday until an agreement is reached among the political parties making up the government on a formula to replace the current decision-making mechanism.
Speaking during a private meeting at his Mseitbeh residence attended by The Daily Star, Salam said he was making contacts with the Cabinet parties in an attempt to find an alternative formula to the decision-making mechanism, which has failed to facilitate the government’s work.
“Our adoption of the measures and mechanism [governing] the Cabinet’s work happened in extraordinary circumstances. But [the mechanism] has hit snags as a result of the obstruction by some parties participating in the Cabinet,” Salam said.
Noting that the mechanism, which requires unanimous support from all 24 ministers on the Cabinet’s decisions, has not helped the government’s productivity more than seven months after it being adopted, Salam said: “Perhaps reaching a new mechanism or formula to facilitate the Cabinet’s work and the people’s affairs has become urgent.”
The premier said he had discussed the Cabinet’s decision-making mechanism during his meeting with Speaker Nabih Berri at the latter’s residence in Ain al-Tineh Saturday. “There was consensus between us on the need for a change,” he said.
But political sources told The Daily Star that Salam was looking to have all government decisions approved by two-thirds of the ministers. Berri informed Salam that he did not oppose his proposition, according to the sources.
Shortly after the presidency grew vacant last May with the expiry of former President Michel Sleiman’s six-year mandate and Parliament’s repeated failure to choose a successor, the Cabinet adopted a mechanism that requires unanimous backing from all 24 ministers on its decisions.
But the mechanism, which allows any minister to veto any decision, has significantly hindered the work of the government, which has been unable to make unanimous decisions on crucial issues over the past few months due to internal disagreements.
Salam stressed that he would not make a decision on changing the Cabinet’s mechanism unless he secures beforehand the approval of all the ministers. He said the political parties were in “an atmosphere of the need to change the mechanism.”
Disagreement over the decision-making mechanism threw the Cabinet into turmoil last Thursday as rival ministers traded accusations over the obstruction of the government’s work, prompting Salam to cut the stormy session short. He said the failure of the adopted mechanism should convince everyone of the need to review it. Although he did not give details on the alternative mechanism, Salam was reported to be seeking a constitutional mechanism that calls for voting on Cabinet decisions if consensus was not secured.
Also, the Cabinet parties are in favor of a change in the decision-making mechanism on the basis of Article 65 in the Constitution which calls for a simple majority vote on the basis of half of the ministers plus one on ordinary issues and unanimous support on issues related to the National Pact on equal power sharing between Muslims and Christians.
According to the Constitution, the Cabinet convenes with a two-thirds quorum and its decisions are made by consensus. In case consensus is hard to achieve, then regular draft laws are passed with a simple majority vote and crucial decisions must be approved by two-thirds of the ministers.
On the case of the 25 Lebanese soldiers and policemen held hostage since last August by ISIS and Nusra Front militants on the outskirts of the northeastern town of Arsal, Salam said the government was still continuing its efforts to secure their release, but accused the kidnappers of not cooperating to end this ordeal. “From our side, we will continue these efforts and maintain the pace of negotiations. But the kidnappers are currently not showing any responsiveness from their side,” he said.
Salam said the first batch of the French weapons to the Lebanese Army funded by a $3 billion Saudi grant would arrive in Lebanon on April 4 as this was confirmed to him by French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius earlier this month when the two met on the sidelines of a security conference in Munich.
According to Salam, there was an international understanding of the situation in Lebanon and the need to help the country to cope with the Syrian refugee crisis.
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