{"id":104564,"date":"2021-01-17T12:29:35","date_gmt":"2021-01-17T12:29:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/?p=104564"},"modified":"2021-01-17T12:29:35","modified_gmt":"2021-01-17T12:29:35","slug":"lebanon-patriarch-tells-feuding-president-and-pm-designate-to-reconcile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/markets\/lebanon-patriarch-tells-feuding-president-and-pm-designate-to-reconcile\/","title":{"rendered":"Lebanon patriarch tells feuding president and PM-designate to reconcile"},"content":{"rendered":"
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanon\u2019s top Christian cleric has urged President Michel Aoun to set up a reconciliation meeting with Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri to form a cabinet and end the country\u2019s political deadlock.<\/p> The country\u2019s fractious politicians have been unable to agree on a new administration since the last one quit in the aftermath of the Aug. 4 Beirut port explosion, leaving Lebanon rudderless as it sinks deeper into economic crisis.<\/p>\n Tensions between Aoun and Hariri, who publicly traded blame in December after failing to agree a cabinet, came to a head last week when a leaked video showed Aoun apparently calling Hariri a liar.<\/p>\n Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai said at his Sunday sermon that the situation in Lebanon was now \u201ctragic\u201d and there was no excuse to further delay forming a government.<\/p>\n \u201cWe wish that his excellency the president take the initiative and invite the prime minister-designate to a meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n Veteran Sunni politician Hariri was named premier for a fourth time in October, promising to form a cabinet of specialists to enact reforms necessary to unlock foreign aid, but political wrangling has delayed the process since.<\/p>\n The leaked video that circulated on social media last week showed Aoun talking to caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab about Hariri.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is no government formation, he (Hariri) is saying he gave me a paper, he is lying,\u201d Aoun is heard saying.<\/p>\n Sources in the president\u2019s office said the dialogue had been taken out of context and was not complete.<\/p>\n After the video circulated, Hariri tweeted biblical verses referring to wisdom not residing in bodies that were amenable to sin.<\/p>\n The souring of the relationship between Aoun and Hariri comes as the country continues to struggle with an acute financial crisis that has seen the currency sink by about 80%.<\/p>\n Lebanon\u2019s healthcare system is also buckling under the pressure of a severe spike in COVID-19 infections. Medical supplies have dwindled as dollars have grown scarce.<\/p>\n