Lebanon president to begin consultations on new PM next week

Lebanon’s new President Joseph Aoun will start consultations with political parties towards naming a prime minister from next week, the presidency says.

Forming a government is key to lifting the war-battered country out of the worst financial crisis of its history.

After more than two years of deadlock resulting from deep political divisions, Lebanese lawmakers elected army chief Aoun as head of state on Thursday.

The president “will on Monday hold parliamentary consultations” in which he will receive representatives of all blocs in the chamber, as well as independent lawmakers, “towards naming a head of government,” his office says.

The process of selecting a prime minister and forming a government is often drawn out, as the president must receive approval from a majority of lawmakers before he can name the head of government.

By convention in the multi-confessional country, the president is a Maronite Christian, the prime minister is a Sunni Muslim and the parliament speaker is a Shiite Muslim.

Analysts say the weakening of Hezbollah in last year’s war with Israel allowed Lebanon’s parliament to finally elect a president, after critics said the Shiite group had blocked a dozen previous attempts.