Press Digest for Sunday February 09, 2014

3^min

The following are summaries of today's major stories published in the Arabic press. LBCI does not edit press digest articles for content, giving English-language readers insight into the various views expressed in newspapers across the Arab world.

Ali Qanso: The new cabinet will not be formed anytime soon

Caretaker State Minister Ali Qanso said that it is normal that the issue of the formation of a new cabinet was highly affected by the upcoming presidential elections, noting that the latter has been considered as a main factor preventing the formation process from being fruitful.

In a statement to al-Anbaa Daily, Qanso pointed out that the Syrian Social Nationalist Party preferred that Prime Minister-Designate Tammam Salam would have resorted to a 30-miniter cabinet where a larger number of political forces can participate and assume responsibilities on several levels.

The caretaker minister stressed that the new cabinet will not be formed anytime soon, adding that the country may be dragged into a presidential void, since no compromises and settlements have been reached yet regarding the main regional issues.

Rifi to hold ministerial portfolio other than Interior Ministry – Sources

Well-informed sources revealed that the name of Major General Ashraf Rifi has been proposed for a ministerial portfolio other than the Interior Ministry, noting that this matter will be finalized within the upcoming hours, amid speculations that the Future Movement may nominate another person for the Interior Ministry in a bid to facilitate the Prime Minister-Designate Tammam Salam’s task.

In a statement to al-Hayat Newspaper, the sources added that the issue of the Interior Ministry will not eliminate the more serious crisis that may erupt following the announcement of the new cabinet.

The sources explained that this crisis will be represented by the withdrawal of the four Shiites ministers, as a way to express solidarity with the ministers of the Change and Reform bloc and their allies, who will withdraw as an objection to the rotation in the distribution of the ministerial portfolios and abstaining from granting current caretaker Minister Gebran Bassil the Energy Ministry.