BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati was designated on Thursday to form a new government, but faces a politically difficult path to agree a new cabinet as the country’s devastating financial crisis festers.
The billionaire was nominated premier for a fourth time after securing the support of 54 of parliament’s 128 lawmakers, including the Hezbollah resistance movement, in consultations convened by President Michel Aoun.
But with splits running deep among Lebanon’s ruling elite, it is widely believed Mikati will struggle to form a government, spelling political paralysis that could hamper reforms agreed with the IMF to unlock aid.
Now in its third year, the financial meltdown has sunk the currency by more than 90 percent and paralyzed the financial system in Lebanon’s worst crisis since the 1975-90 civil war.
Mikati, who has already served as prime minister three times, continues in a caretaker role until a government is formed, a process that typically goes on for months as political factions divvy up roles in cabinet and beyond.
Earlier on Thursday, Hezbollah had named Mikati for premiership, as Lebanese lawmakers held binding consultations over who should be the next prime minister following nationwide elections last month.
The Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc, which is the political wing of Hezbollah in the Lebanese parliament, announced Thursday that it had chosen the incumbent prime minister.
“We have decided to nominate Premier Mikati as the head of the next government,” said lawmaker Mohammad Raad, the chief of the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc, al-Manar television network reported.
“Our position is easy and restrained. Lebanon needs a government that can manage its affairs and interests. Crises require realism, providing all opportunities and removing obstacles to form a government to deal with deadlines and developments,” he added, stressing that the character of the designated premier will enhance opportunities for this purpose.
On May 31, Lebanese lawmakers re-elected Nabih Berri as the country’s parliament speaker for a seventh consecutive term after his candidature went largely unchallenged.
Hezbollah and its allies hold sway in the new parliament despite their enemies’ attempts to undermine the political power and popularity of the resistance movement in the recent parliamentary elections.