HARIRI'S CABINET WINS HISTORIC VOTE OF CONFIDENCE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIRUT 001305 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/10/2019 TAGS: PGOV KDEM PINR KISL LE SUBJECT: HARIRI'S CABINET WINS HISTORIC VOTE OF CONFIDENCE DESPITE DISCONTENT REF: A. BEIRUT 1214 ¶B. BEIRUT 1231 ¶C. BEIRUT 1280 Classified By: CDA, a.i. Thomas F. Daughton for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Prime Minister Saad Hariri's cabinet and its ministerial statement won an overwhelming vote of confidence from the Lebanese parliament late on December 10. In the final vote 122 out of 128 MPs voted to support the new government, six months after elections brought the parliament to office. Despite the numbers, in debate on the statement MPs expressed a great deal of discontent with the language of Article 6, which preserves "the resistance," a reference to Hizballah's arms. But in the end, the objecting MPs stopped short of voting against the statement. Mohammad Chatah, a senior advisor to PM Hariri, was pleased with the final language in the ministerial statement. Although the language was open to interpretation, for him the most important phrase is the inclusion of the "exclusive authority of the state over all decisions," he said. In his interpretation, resistance is a legitimate tool under situations of aggression and occupation and could only be used as a defensive action. End summary. HARIRI SUCCEEDS -------------- ¶2. (SBU) In the late evening hours of December 10, 122 out of 128 MPs voted in favor of PM Hariri's announced cabinet and its policy statement. Hariri's cabinet formation process was beset with false starts and several negotiating setbacks until the cabinet was announced on November 9 (reftels). Following its announcement, the cabinet approved its ministerial statement -- which resembled closely the 2008 government's statement -- on December 2. However, controversial articles remained, particularly Article 6 that preserved the right of Lebanon's "army, people, and resistance." Parliament debated the statement for three days beginning December 8. ¶3. (SBU) During the debate, several of Hariri's allies expressed reservations about the process of how the government was formed and the resulting ministerial statement. Among them, newly elected MP Nuhad Mashnouq, from Hariri's Future Movement, decried the inclusion of references to "the resistance" in the statement, arguing it only made the resistance stronger. He added that the formation of a national unity cabinet should be reserved for "exceptional circumstances" and that the 2008 Doha Agreement should not be considered as a constitutional mandate for future application. MP Marwan Hamadeh, March 14 stalwart and confidant of Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, delivered an impassioned speech in which he voiced concern about the lack of any guarantee with regard to who holds the authority to make decisions about war and peace and the duality of weapons -- a direct reference to Hizballah. He called on Hariri and his cabinet to refrain from involving Lebanon in any regional conflicts and objected to the composition of the government which, he said, led to "an illusory majority and dominant minority." ¶4. (SBU) "No one can eliminate the other and our only option is to succeed in the attempt for national solidarity," Hariri said during his closing statement prior to the vote. Responding to criticism raised during the debate about the resistance and Hizballah's weapons, Hariri stressed that "the Lebanese army is primarily responsible for defending the country and the government is committed to strengthen the capabilities of the army to perform its duties." The head of Hizballah's parliamentary bloc, MP Mohammad Raad, had earlier remarked during his speech that "we, the resistance, who defeated the army of the Zionist enemy, demand to equip the army with the needed equipment to allow it to confront Israeli aggression, because that would assure our people and would increase the confidence of the soldiers in their capabilities in defending the country." ¶5. (C) Ultimately, the parliamentarians who did not vote for the statement included four who were absent from the vote (March 14 MP Dory Chamoun, Druze opposition MP Talal Arslan, and Christian opposition MP Nabil Nicolas due to out of country travel, and Future Movement MP Hachem Alameddin due to illness). Islamic Grouping MP Imad Hout abstained, while independent MP Nicolas Fattouch voted against. March 14 ally Amine Gemayel's Kataeb MPs all voted in favor of the government, despite Minister of Social Affairs Salim Sayegh BEIRUT 00001305 002 OF 002 telling us earlier in the day that the party's members intended to be absent from the vote in opposition to Article ¶6. Elie Khoury, advisor to Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea, relayed to polstaff that Geagea had intervened with Gemayel to persuade him to have his MPs appear for the vote after he learned of their planned abstention the afternoon of December 10. MP Alain Aoun of opposition Christian leader Michel Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement (allied with Hizballah) characterized Future Movement MPs as "having given up" to Hizballah's demands. MINISTERIAL STATEMENT OPEN TO INTERPRETATION, CHATAH SAYS -------------- ¶6. (C) Mohammad Chatah, a senior advisor to PM Hariri, reiterated to Charge on December 10 that he was "pleased" with the language in the ministerial statement. Chatah, who was finance minister in the 2008 cabinet, argued that the text of the statement had improved in one important area: Article 3 specifically notes the "exclusive authority of the state" over all decisions of the government. Chatah argued that the language was deliberately vague but, combined with Article 6, could not be interpreted as giving anyone "the right to fire rockets across the Blue Line" or take offensive action. He acknowledged that encapsulating the idea of resistance was not ideal, but said there was no other realistic choice at this time. The government, he explained, should work towards a "unitary" state and take "full advantage" to discuss how Hizballah's weapons strength could be absorbed into the army. President Sleiman and the National Dialogue, he said, should be the vehicle to achieve this end goal, although he expected it would take time. ¶7. (C) COMMENT: The parliamentary vote of confidence came just four days before President Sleiman meets President Obama in Washington on December 14. Sleiman will be buoyed by the vote, especially since he last visited the U.S. for the UN General Assembly in September, when no government was in sight. In the end the parliamentary debate was largely pro forma, since almost everyone expected the statement to pass despite reservations and objections. Prime Minister Hariri's challenge now will be to steer his government on a course that quiets the discontent of his allies and works towards building real national unity. DAUGHTON