The Game Of Time

In the ongoing negotiations over the cabinet formation, the ones who care least about time are the ones who wil have the most leverage. In other words, the more you’re in a hurry for the government to be formed, the more likely you are to concede.

The person who seems most in a hurry is Mr. Berri. I’m not sure if this is his personal view or if he’s expressing Hezbollah’s position, but he just keeps hammering the point that the government should be formed very soon. The Aounists on the other hand are exceedingly relaxed. To Mr. Berri’s consternation, they constantly remind us that the “real” negotiations haven’t even started yet.

Mikati is trying to be coy by pretending he doesn’t care about time either. But don’t fall for that. Every day without him being able to form a government is a bad day for him.