Beirut - Nazeer Rida

Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri will head on vacation starting Monday, armed with “silence” against all parties responsible for delaying the birth of his government.

"Sometimes silence is necessary for others to listen," he tweeted Hariri Sunday.

Late last week, political forces allegedly overcame all obstacles hindering the birth of a new government, confirming to the Lebanese that a long-awaited lineup would finally be unveiled before the Christmas holiday.

However, obstacles related to the problem of Sunni representation and the problem of portfolio distribution reemerged on Saturday as concerned parties began trading accusations over which side was responsible for the delay.

Contacts initiated in the recent hours could not prevent Hariri from embarking on his vacation, which is expected to last until the new year, in case no new developments emerge in the cabinet file.

“We are all armed with silence against every party responsible for delaying the government,” member of the Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc, MP Roula Tabsh told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Silence prevailed at the political level on Sunday in the absence of any alternative plan for dealing with the latest developments.

Qassem Hashem, one of the Hezbollah-aligned Sunni MPs, told a local radio station that the Consultative Gathering was not responsible for the government delay.

“Today, there is a need to look for quick measures to save the government,” he said.

For his part, Progressive Socialist Party chief, Walid Jumblatt tweeted: “The government could not take off … We are headed to further consultations and more debts.”

The pro-Hezbollah March 8 team held Jebran Bassil, head of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), responsible for the government delay.

However, the FPM’s website later quoted a source as saying that Bassil and President Michel Aoun cannot be responsible for obstructing the birth of a new cabinet.

“We had agreed to nominate Jawad Adra as a representative for the Consultative Gathering from Aoun’s shares,” the source explained, adding that the bloc withdrew from the deal after asking Adra to only represent the six Sunni deputies and not the president.