BEIRUT - Before the end of the 60-day Lebanon-Israel ceasefire agreement, and a week after Judge Nawaf Salam was assigned to form a new cabinet, meetings with parliamentary blocs are intensifying to dispel any obstacles, one of which is the Lebanese Forces’ insistence on monopolizing the ministries of foreign affairs and energy.

Reportedly, Samir Geagea, head of the Lebanese Forces (4 ministries), has also sent MP Melhem Riachi to meet Prime Minister-designate Nawaz Salam and know the details of the cabinet lineup. 

Salam informed Riachi that he was determined to strengthen his relationship with Nabih Berri, Speaker of the Parliament, based on a promising future and putting national interests above anything else.

For his part, President Joseph Aoun, despite announcing that he is not seeking any ministry for his team, insists on granting him the power to place a “veto” on the names nominated for the sovereign ministries of foreign affairs, defense and interior.

According to sources, the prime minister-designate is in talks with figures who are supposed to have chances to hold ministerial positions; they say he is seeking to form a “technocratic-political” cabinet.

Salam insists on not excluding any political stakeholders, so he intends to appoint representatives of these factions to ministerial portfolios, provided that they: (1) do not hold senior positions in these factions; (2) sign a pledge not to run in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

Given that the Interior Ministry is the Sunni share, there is a deep disagreement between Sunni figures in this regard, especially as the minister will supervise the upcoming parliamentary elections, scheduled for May 2026. 

Although Salam did not make any promise to appoint any Shiite figure outside the circle of the Hezbollah-Amal duo, he did not contact any of the so-called “Shiite opposition”, who saw an opportunity to find a foothold in the government. However, following the two meetings that brought Salam together with the duo, their US-prompted dream has faded.

The prime minister-designate further met with Mohammad Raad, head of the Loyalty to the Resistance bloc; Hussein Khalil, the political assistant to the Hezbollah Secretary-General, and MP Ali Hassan Khalil, a representative of the Amal Movement. 

During the two meetings, Salam spoke at length about the Lebanese political system since independence from the French occupation in the early fifties, until the Taif Agreement, which ended the 1975-1990 civil war, stressing his view not to exclude any political component. 

The duo expressed their objection to the violations that accompanied his nomination, but showed their willingness to overcome that in order to preserve Lebanon's interests during this critical period.

In addition to the Ministry of Finance, the duo demanded a significant service ministry, such as the Ministry of Public Works or the Ministry of Health, expressing their complete readiness to cooperate with Salam.

Meanwhile, it is not clear whether the duo will be the ones to propose the names of the five ministers for the prime minister-designate to choose from or vice versa, knowing that the duo’s priority is the mechanism for governance and addressing urgent issues in the next phase.

Since the signing of the Taif Agreement, successive governments have made it a priority for the ministerial statement to clearly state the right of the Lebanese to resist and liberate the occupied territories. Therefore, one of the duo’s priorities is for the current ministerial statement to stipulate the righteousness of the resistance.

In light of the anti-Hezbollah team’s biased interpretations of UN Resolution 1701, the duo is keen for the ministerial statement to express the government’s commitment that President Joseph Aoun would conduct a comprehensive national dialogue regarding the Resistance movement’s weapons along the general national defense strategy.