Hariri Won’t Be Next Lebanon PM

Dubai – Masaader News

Saad al-Hariri, Lebanon’s leading Sunni politician, took himself out of the running on the eve of formal consultations to pick a prime minister, a post reserved for a Sunni in Lebanon’s sectarian power-sharing system, according to Reuters.

Hezbollah and the Amal movement are likely to name Hassan Diab, a university professor who was education minister from 2011-2014. Diab could be the next premier if he gains the backing of other Hezbollah political allies, including the Christian FPM party, with parliament tilted in their favor.

The consultations set for Thursday, which political rifts had delayed, require President Michel Aoun to designate the candidate with the most support among Lebanon’s 128 MPs.

Since Hariri quit as premier in late October, the main parties have feuded over forming a new government, which Lebanon badly needs to tackle its worst economic crisis since the 1975-90 civil war.