BEIRUT: Lebanon’s top Christian cleric lashed out at “stubborn and destructive” officials on Sunday for blocking the formation of a new government.
Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai used his sermon to denounce those who were blocking the process, painting a grim picture of how Lebanon was struggling during the pandemic and a financial crisis.
Politicians have failed to agree on a new administration since the last one resigned after the devastating Aug. 4 explosion in Beirut. There has also been a sharp increase in tension between President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri.
Al-Rai led mediation efforts to resolve the deadlock and complications, but failed in his endeavors.
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. Photo: Lebanese Parliament / Handout via Reuters.
The path to a new Lebanese government is completely blocked, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said in comments published on Tuesday, but he held out hope that French President Emmanuel Macron might be able to help in a forthcoming visit.
Fractious politicians have been unable to agree on a new government since the last one quit in the aftermath of the Aug. 4 Beirut port explosion, leaving Lebanon rudderless as it sinks deeper into economic and financial crisis.
“We have entered a tunnel and I don’t know how we will get out of it,” Berri told