Al Jazeera News :
Hariri proposed in a statement on Tuesday that prime minister-designate Mustapha Adib, a Sunni Muslim under Lebanon’s system of power-sharing, name an “independent” Shia candidate to the finance portfolio.
Lebanon’s problems were compounded by a devastating explosion on August 4 at Beirut port. Subsequent fires in and around the area and Tuesday’s blast in south Lebanon have further rattled the nation.
It was not immediately clear whether the two main Shia groups, Hezbollah and its ally, the Amal Movement, would back Hariri’s idea. Pro-Hezbollah newspaper Al-Akhbar was critical of the proposal.
A Shia Muslim politician picked by the Amal chief has run the finance ministry for years. Adib aimed to shake up ministerial posts.
The French Foreign Ministry welcomed on Wednesday the “courageous declaration” by Hariri. “This declaration represents an opening and all parties should understand its importance so that a government of mission can now be established,” it said.
President Michel Aoun, a Christian allied to Hezbollah, said on Monday Lebanon was going “to hell” if it could not form a government to tackle the crisis that has paralysed the banks, sent Lebanon’s pound into freefall and plunged many into poverty.
