If our collapsing country witnesses the formation of a new government before the end of President Michel Aoun’s “reign,” then we will embark on a campaign of judicial, administrative and military appointments, which is likely to witness rivalries and conflicts between the political blocs, and perhaps these appointments are what prompt Aoun to insist on forming the government, unlike President Najib. Mikati, who does not seem to be willing to change the current reality, is a government official.
The world of appointments is wide, but if we want to reduce it to include appointments of the Sunni sect only, the discussion here becomes about who will reap the “lion’s share” of these appointments, in the absence of the largest leader of the sect, Saad Hariri, and with him the “Future” movement, especially since the Sunni political forces are not on Harmony, but the relationship between its deputies is marred by many divisions and differences.
Prominent political sources say that the main decision regarding the appointments of the Sunni community today, after the elections, political developments and Hariri’s withdrawal from political life, is in the hands of the prime minister, i.e. Mikati. However, the latter coordinates with Hariri, and thus, Hariri can be considered prime minister without being officially assigned.
President Mikati will try to satisfy some political forces in the matter of appointments, i.e. some representatives of the regions he cares about, especially in the North and Beirut regions, and he will take into account the opinion of Dar al-Fatwa and Mufti Abdel Latif Derian on some appointments, especially in the judicial field.
But in practice, the lion’s share belongs to President Najib Mikati with Prime Minister Saad Hariri, and this is part of the permanent coordination between them, and the Fatwa House has a word on some sites. Other than that, the Future Movement no longer had the first stake in appointments. However, it should be noted that most of the appointments that will be made within the framework of the Sunni community, even if Prime Minister Saad Hariri did not choose them, or choose some of them, they will not be in contrast to him, but most of the appointments will remain, if not all of them have a positive relationship in one way or another with Hariri and the Future Movement, even if Mikati is the one who chooses the personalities associated with him, or other personalities he wants to implant within public administrations.
Regarding Mikati’s insistence on taking into account Hariri in the appointments file, the sources clarified that Prime Minister Mikati made this choice in order to strengthen his governmental position within the club of heads of government and permanent candidates for prime minister.
From his point of view, Mikati needs to establish an alliance with Sunni authorities. Saad Hariri’s reference remains a major Sunni and national reference, and he has clear popular legitimacy and political weight, even though he is outside the parliamentary game. Therefore, this is part of the coverage that Mikati provides for himself.
There is no doubt that Mikati needs alliances, and the alliance with Hariri is well established and has not changed, even with Hariri’s exit from political work, especially since there are many estimates that the suspension of political work by Prime Minister Hariri is temporary, and we do not know whether it will last for a few months or For years, but at the present time, Mikati’s choice is to always take into account the opinion and interests of Hariri, whether in the public administration or in political decisions.