Hours after President Michel Aoun tasked former Education Minister Professor Hassan Diab with forming the country’s next government, former Prime Minister Saad Hariri announced his opinion in this regard during the Sar El Waqet program on MTV Lebanon.
Hariri spoke to the audience and the program’s host, journalist Marcel Ghanem, revealing the following: “As an authority, we failed in many places, we did nothing, we did not provide electricity or telecommunications. We failed, yes, but I did not go to a settlement in futility but rather to get the country and the institutions working again.”
“Optimism is necessary at this stage,” he stressed then pointed out that “the people took to the streets and we all heard them, and there was no party that did not hear. But the problem today is that we must move forward and get something done in the country and that there will be a government.”
He added, “The only way out of the crisis is with a government of specialists, and that does not mean they will not understand political matters, but rather have an independent decision to do their duty in the government.”
Hariri pointed out that “everything that was happening in the government was interpreted by some in politics, each according to its political whims,” stressing that “we failed to solve the problem of waste and the dispute was over the technology that should be used.”
“Nobody wants to take the decision; unfortunately, everyone wants to work with a sectarian background,” he explained. “Thank God, there are men shouting in the street, screaming and saying enough of sectarianism,” he said, validating the importance of the revolution in bringing the change.
Asserting, “I am the first who nominated Nawaf Salam to head the government,” he also revealed that he was surprised by the attitude of the Lebanese Forces political party, which he apparently expected to vote for Salam.
“Tomorrow, I will receive the Prime Minister-designate Hassan Diab,” he stated, confirming that he is for the formation of a new government formed. However, he expressed his concern: “I am not comfortable because I fear for the country.”
Enigmatically as his statement sounded, it nonetheless reflects the feeling of the Lebanese people; at least that of the revolutionaries continuing their protests.
As for Prime Minister-designate Hassan Diab, he shared via an interview with OTV that he intends to form the government before the week ends, firmly saying, “I won’t back down from the formation of the new government.”