Hariri says he won't be PM of Lebanon's next government

BEIRUT - Lebanon's Saad al-Hariri said on Tuesday he did not want to be prime minister of a new government, calling his decision "decisive" and saying he was confident President Michel Aoun would convene consultations to designate someone else.

Hariri resigned on Oct. 29 in the face of nationwide protests against Lebanon's ruling elite. His decision toppled a coalition government including the powerful, Iran-backed Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah, which opposed the decision.

Since then, Lebanon's main parties have been locked in talks and unable to agree a new government despite the worst economic crisis since the 1975-90 civil war.

"I am sticking by the rule 'not me, rather someone else' to form a government that addresses the aspirations of the young men and women," Hariri, Lebanon's leading Sunni Muslim politician, said in a statement.

"I have full hope and confidence, after announcing this clear and decisive decision, that the president of the republic....will immediately call the binding parliamentary consultations" to designate a new prime minister, he said.

President Michel Aoun will hold binding consultations with members of parliament on Thursday to designate the country's next prime minister, sources at the presidential palace said on Tuesday.

The prime minister must be a Sunni Muslim according to Lebanon's sectarian power-sharing system. Hariri is aligned with Western and Gulf Arab states.

He said he hoped withdrawing his candidacy would open the way for a solution to the political deadlock, blaming  the "chronic denial" of the country's political leaders and insisting that a new government made up of experts is needed to get Lebanon out of its crisis.

Hariri said: "It is clear that what is more dangerous than the major national crisis and sharp economic crisis our country is passing through - and which is preventing us from dealing with these two intertwined crises - is the state of chronic denial being expressed on several occasions over the past few weeks."

In response to the "irresponsible practices" of political leaders, Hariri said he felt compelled to make his intentions known.

Officials from the Free Patriotic Movement, a major Christian party founded by Aoun, have accused Hariri of delaying the process of forming a new government by refusing to accept any other candidate for the premiership, a charge the Sunni Muslim denies.

The United States, Britain, France, the UN, World Bank and credit rating agencies have all urged officials to streamline the process in the wake of the twin political and economic crisis gripping the country.

A former finance minister, Mohamad Safadi, had been considered to replace Hariri but withdrew his bid after more protests.

Aoun's powers include initiating the required parliamentary consultations to appoint a new premier.

The president has said he was open to a government that would include technocrats and representatives of the popular movement, both key demands of the protesters.

However, the demonstrators say they will reject any government that consists of representatives of the established parties.