In the aftermath of Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt’s surprise announcement on Sunday that his alliance with the March 14 coalition was made out of necessity four years ago and must be terminated, majority-allied leaders are in a scramble to hold together what progress has been made regarding the cabinet formation and to contain the political fallout.

March 14 leaders have spent the past two days putting their heads together to find the best way to proceed. Besides the movement’s Sunday evening response to Jumblatt’s announcement, there have been no official statements released, (though As-Safir reported that the Lebanon First bloc headed by Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri is to issue a statement stressing the principles and sacrifices underlying the Cedar Revolution, though it remains to be seen whether or not the statement will recant the earlier expression alluding to Jumblatt’s “shameful history.”)

But a flurry of meetings has been taking place among majority leaders, Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri, who has spent the last month attempting to pull together a national-unity cabinet, and President Michel Sleiman.

PM-designate Hariri has apparently not spoken to MP Jumblatt personally, though, despite the intensive “goodwill initiatives” led by ministers Ghazi Aridi and Wael Abu Faour, and MP Marwan Hamadeh, all members of Jumblatt’s Democratic Gathering bloc, “thus reflecting the seriousness of the problem,” reported An-Nahar today.

It seems that the only person who is speaking openly to the press is Walid Jumblatt himself, who gave interviews to An-Nahar, Al-Akhbar, Al-Sharq al-Awsat, As-Safir and others. He is also apparently set to accept the Iranian ambassador’s invitation to visit the Iranian Embassy in Beirut in the coming days, according to As-Safir.
 
One of the concerns the March 14 coalition is grappling with is that it will lose its majority in the parliament, though sources close to Jumblatt and the Democratic Gathering told An-Nahar that that is not true, and that “there are enough Democratic Gathering MPs who will vote for the majority, which alluded to a potential split within the gathering,” the paper wrote.

Al-Akhbar asked Jumblatt whether or not some Democratic Gathering MPs may quit the bloc, to which said that “anything is possible.”

An-Nahar wrote that Jumblatt is finding it difficult to convince his party to move from the March 14 coalition to another position, “even if it is an independent one,” and Jumblatt himself told the paper that “the majority will retain its numerical advantage,” and that “I will join the president, who is the guarantee.”

Opposition leaders noticeably abstained from giving any statements, though Speaker Nabih Berri “alluded that he had expected Jumblatt to make his announcement after the formation of the government,” according to An-Nahar.

Berri also told the paper that “the agreement over the 15-10-5 formula is constant and not retractable,” and the opposition “will not win Jumblatt over only to lose Hariri.”

-NOW Staff