LEBANON: Syriac Maronite Patriarch al-Raï calls for the formation of “small, qualified and strong” emergency-government

BEIRUT, BKERKE, Lebanon – As designate Prime Minister Mustafa Adib has started forming a new Lebanese government, Syriac Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Raï on Sunday called on the PM-designate Adib to form a “small, qualified and strong” emergency-government. His Holiness Al-Raï stressed that “fateful times” in Lebanon today require a government in which there is no monopoly on ministerial portfolios, no benefits, no dominance of a group.

Lebanon now needs a “small, qualified and strong” emergency-government that can negotiate responsibly with the International Monetary Fund, launch a real reform agenda, dissociate Lebanon from conflicts, restore bank deposits to the people, save the Lebanese pound from collapse, rebuild Beirut and its port, reduce migration of the younger generation from Lebanon, accelerate the restoration of destroyed houses before the onset of winter, and secure the return of universities and schools.

Any new neutral Lebanese government that does not have these characteristics will be a continuation of the old policies that destroyed Lebanon and such a government will be born dead, stressed influential Patriarch al-Raï.