Lebanon's Hezbollah says Hariri must resolve government row
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BEIRUT - The Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah said on Thursday it was up to Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri to resolve a row over Sunni representation that has obstructed the formation of a new government.
Six months after a parliamentary election, the row has further delayed the formation of a national unity government that is expected to group most of Lebanon's sectarian political parties.
Lebanon is in dire need of a government able to implement the economic reforms that the IMF says are needed to put its public debt on a sustainable path. Lebanon has the world's third largest public debt as a proportion of the economy, and growth is stagnant.
A deal looked close last week when the Christian Lebanese Forces Party ceded ground to President Michel Aoun and his Free Patriotic Movement, settling a row over Christian representation that had been seen as the main obstacle.
But Hezbollah, a heavily armed group backed by Iran, is pressing for one of its allied Sunni members of parliament to be given a cabinet portfolio, reflecting their gains in the election. Hariri, Lebanon's leading Sunni, has resisted.
