Beirut | Lebanese President Michel Aoun has set October 15 for parliamentary consultations with a view to appointing a new prime minister, after a first failed attempt last month to form a government of “independents”, demanded by the streets and the international community.
“President Aoun has set Thursday, October 15, as the date for holding parliamentary consultations to designate a personality to form the new government,” the Lebanese presidency said on Twitter.
After weeks of fruitless negotiations, Prime Minister Moustapha Adib, appointed at the end of August to form a “mission” government, demanded in particular by Paris, threw in the towel on September 26, for lack of consensus between the political parties.
He was to form a cabinet responsible for putting in place the reforms essential to unblocking international aid within two weeks, announced by French President Emmanuel Macron during his visit to Lebanon in early September.
This missed deadline, in a multi-faith country accustomed to endless haggling between the ruling parties accused of corruption by the street, had aroused the ire of the French president who castigated a “collective betrayal” during a speech held the next day. of the resignation of Mr. Adib.
Mr. Macron had granted an additional period of “four to six weeks” to form this government, evoking a “last chance”.
Moustapha Adib succeeded Hassan Diab who resigned after the devastating explosion on August 4 at the port of Beirut. This left more than 190 dead and 6,500 injured and devastated entire districts of the capital.
Lebanon has been experiencing for a year the worst economic, social and political crisis since at least the end of the civil war (1975-1990), amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic.