Mikati has been in charge of forming the government since in the past year Mustafa Adib and Saad El-Din Hariri failed to form the government.

Born in 1955 in Tripoli, Najib Mikati is a veteran Lebanese businessman and politician who has twice before served as Prime Minister of Lebanon, first in 2005 and then in 2011.

Mikati is one of the most important and well-known political figures who is considered an ally of the Future Movement and the Hariri family in Lebanon. He has always praised Lebanon’s resistance against the Zionist regime, but is critical of Hezbollah’s approach to Syria.

Positions of parties, political currents and foreign countries

The vote of the parliament is one of the important conditions for the formation of the government in Lebanon. The Lebanese parliament has 128 members, which has now been reduced to 118 due to the deaths of two and the resignation of eight. Of those 118 people, Najib Mikati was able to obtain the consent and support of 72 representatives (equivalent to 61%) to form a government, which is a good figure for forming a government.

Al-Mustaqbal faction led by Hariri with 17 representatives, which is the most important Sunni party in Lebanon, al-Tanmiya and al-Tahrir led by Nabih Berri with 17 representatives and 4 independent representatives (the views of Nabih Berri, who chairs the parliament and has the support of Hezbollah, somehow are considered a kind of position of the Lebanese Shiites), Hezbollah-affiliated faction al-Wafa Lelmoqawema (Loyalty to the Resistance Front) with 12 representatives; al-Taqadomi al-Eshteraki (Socialist Progressive Party) led by Walid Jumblatt with 7 representatives; al-Taktel al-Watani (National Bloc) affiliated with Tayyar Al-Marada Movement), headed by Suleiman Frangieh with 5 representatives; al-Qomia al-Ejtemaiya (Social Nationalist) Party with 3 representatives; al-Wasat al-Mustaqal (Moderate Independent) Party with 2 representatives and al-Leqaa al-Tashawori (Consultative Union) with 2 representatives out of 4 representatives, are the currents that have agreed with and welcomed formation of the government by Mikati.

Al-Jumhuriyah al-Qawiya (Strong Republican Party) , affiliated with the Lebanese Forces party, headed by Samir Geagea, with 14 representatives, Strong Lebanon affiliated with the Free National Movement led by Gebran Bassil with 17 representatives, al-Nawab al-Armen faction with 3 representatives, Zamana al-Jabal (Mountain Guarantee) with 4 representatives and 3 independent representatives and two representatives of al-Laqaa Al-Tashawori are the factions that have voted against formation of the Mikati government.

Gebran Bassil, who leads the Christian side of the resistance and is one of the three sides of the March 8 Coalition, has refused to vote for him on the grounds that he sees no difference between Mikati and Hariri; however, he may change his mind after consultations. Mikati was commissioned by Michel Aoun, the Maronite President and former leader of the National Liberation Movement, which is currently headed by Bassil.

As for the positions and views of foreign countries, what has been observed so far has been an implicit agreement with Mikati’s mission in forming the government? In other words, Najib Mikati, unlike Saad El-Din Hariri, enjoys a great deal of regional and international support. At the international level, the United States, France and the European Union have announced their conditional support for Mikati. At the level of Arab countries, Egypt and Jordan have expressed their support for Mikati in similar positions, and Qatar and the UAE have not opposed Mikati. Saudi Arabia, which until now opposed formation of any government in which Hezbollah was present or supported by Hezbollah, has not taken a specific position and has taken a neutral approach.

Prospect

There are various propositions that show Najib Mikati, although having a difficult path ahead, will eventually succeed in forming a government. Internal consensus (close support for political parties, coalitions, and political currents) and lack of external opposition addressed above are two effective propositions in this regard. At the level of Lebanese society, Najib Mikati, with the exception of limited reactions on social media, did not face a sharp reaction from the people and public opinion.

In addition, Najib Mikati, unlike Hariri, is a realist politician who can be seen not only in the composition of the cabinet, which consists of all internal currents and lack of radical differences with the president, but also in his declaration programs focusing on the crisis points in Lebanon. He has cited resolving the economic crisis, providing fuel and power plants, supporting vulnerable groups and stabilizing the price of the national currency as his government’s top priorities.

It is an important advantage for Mikati that he prefers national and political issues to his personal relations, which is Hariri’s characteristic. His meeting with Bassil immediately after his return from Greece, while Hariri refused to meet and talk with Basil, is a clear example in this regard.

But despite the opportunities mentioned, Mikati faces some challenges in forming the government. Partisanship of political parties and currents, especially those present on March 14 and always seeking more shares in the government, the growing economic crisis and foreign sanctions, as well as the temporary government that Mikati forms, because next year parliamentary elections will be held, and of course, doubts about foreign support are the four important challenges of Mikati in this regard.

In conclusion, what needs to be re-emphasized is that Mikati still has a difficult way to go to form a government and still faces various obstacles in this regard; barriers that are mainly of domestic origin and go back to the specific demographic, tribal and political context in that country, which has always been the core of instability in that country.