Siniora's media office fires back at Salameh: Siniora stood alone in opposing series of ranks and salaries

The media office of Former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora considered the statements made by Lebanon's Central Bank governor, Riad Salameh, during his television interview, where he falsely implicated him in engineering the increase of the series of ranks and salaries in the parliament, as fabricated and contrary to well-established facts. 

Siniora stood as the sole politician opposing the approval of the series of ranks and salaries in all three stages of their discussion in the parliament, the statement said, adding that this position was evident in multiple occasions and speeches he delivered in parliamentary sessions held to approve it in 2011, 2012, and 2017, which were the years following his terms as Prime Minister.

The media office further stated that the parliamentary records witness Siniora's interventions and public objections against those who insisted on increasing expenditures recklessly. 

He emphasized the financial burden that exceeded the state's capabilities, especially in the absence of implementing administrative, economic, and financial reforms that he continuously advocated for.

However, "the majority of political forces in the parliament agreed to approve these new series under the pressure of populist bidding, especially what happened in 2017 before the parliamentary elections."

The media office also stressed that Siniora's words and stances during the parliamentary sessions and discussions on the approval of the series of ranks and salaries from 2011 to 2017 highlighted the grave risks arising from the continued lack of discipline in public spending and the failure to enact necessary reforms for Lebanon's growth and productivity. 

In conclusion, the media office affirmed that most political forces know that the former PM was the first to warn against excessive and shortsighted spending to prevent Lebanon from reaching its dire state. This fact is well known to the Lebanese people and acknowledged by the governor, yet he overlooked it.