BEIRUT: Prime Minister Tammam Salam said Monday he will not allow his government to collapse as he pushed ahead to reach agreement on a formula to replace the current decision-making mechanism.
“My government is currently filling the presidential void,” Salam said in remarks published by local daily An-Nahar. “I’m not willing to move the presidential void to the government.”
Salam called for “extensive consultations” to prevent disruption of the government, adding that “an idea is being discussed” to the decision-making problem.
“We will announce it once agreement has been reached,” he said.
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.”
Salam discussed the Cabinet’s decision-making mechanism during his meeting with Speaker Nabih Berri in Ain al-Tineh Saturday. “There was consensus between us on the need for a change,” he said.
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.
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