Saad Al Hariri speaks during a news conference in Beirut.- Reuters
Beirut - Hariri's resignation on Tuesday left a political vacuum at a moment of acute crisis.
Published: Wed 30 Oct 2019, 10:00 PM
Updated: Thu 31 Oct 2019, 12:09 AM
Saad Hariri is ready to return as prime minister of a new Lebanese government, a senior official familiar with his thinking said, on condition it includes technocrats and can quickly implement reforms to stave off economic crash.
Hariri's resignation on Tuesday left a political vacuum at a moment of acute crisis, with reforms urgently needed to ward off even deeper financial problems in one of the world's most heavily indebted states. After two weeks of anti-government protests largely subsided following Hariri's announcement, main roads in Lebanon reopened on Wednesday as security forces sought to restore a semblance of normality.
Banks remained closed for an 11th working day but the Association of Lebanese Banks said they would resume normal operations and receive customers on Friday.
The official, who declined to be identified, said any new cabinet led by Hariri should not include a group of top-tier politicians who were in the outgoing coalition government, without naming them. The cabinet comprised top representatives of most of Lebanon's sectarian parties, among them foreign minister Gebran Bassil of the Christian Free Patriotic Movement.
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