Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri has finally formed a unity government, ending the country's situation without a government after more than 4 months.
Hariri, who leads the pro-US governing coalition, submitted a list of Cabinet Ministers to President Michel Suleiman on Monday.
The list is made up of ministers from both the governing and opposition camps, including 2 from opposition Shia Muslim group Hezbollah, which is backed by Syria and Iran.
Hariri expressed hope that the government may help restore public trust in the country's politics.
The pro-US coalition led by Hariri won a parliamentary election in June.
But Hariri had struggled to form a unity government since then, unable to strike a deal on the share of Cabinet posts going to the opposition camp including Hezbollah.
The 2 camps finally agreed on a Cabinet list where the number of opposition ministers was set at less than one-third, so that they cannot block the Cabinet's sponsoring of key bills.
The new government has to tackle issues such as debts totaling 50 billion dollars, sectarian tensions and the massive weapons store allegedly held by Hezbollah.
2009/11/10 12:01(JST)
(JST: UTC+9hrs.)
http://www.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/10_16.html
Wed Nov 11, 2009 11:20 am