Hala al-Husseini, "Akhbar al-Yawm" agency

Deterioration in their living conditions

The chairman of the finance and Budget Committee, MP Ibrahim Kanaan, began preparing to propose a law giving increases to employees, military personnel and public sector employees after a large number of Deputies rejected the government's projects as it is a caretaker government.

After the preparation of this proposal, it is expected that it will be presented to the finance and Budget Committee or to the joint parliamentary committees for approval and referral to the general body of the House of Representatives as soon as possible, as parliamentary sources explained, via the "Akhbar Al-Yawm" agency, that there is difficulty in the possibility of holding it due to the fact that the opposition team believes that the priority is to hold a session to elect a president of the Republic before any other work, knowing that several legislative sessions were held under caretaker governments, the latest of which was the one that approved the extension of the municipal and elective councils, on April 18 last.

In this context, parliamentary sources indicate that the situation has changed since then until today, especially in light of the intersection of interests between the FPM and the opposition forces.

These sources say that if President Nabih Berri calls for a legislative session, some members of the strong Lebanon bloc will attend the session in order to approve the law on increasing the salaries of military personnel and employees, while the rest of the opposition parties will attend only the electoral session, especially after these parties agree on the nomination of Minister Jihad Azour for the presidential entitlement, as it does not pose a challenge to anyone, and contacts are intensifying to hold such a session at least to manage the affairs of employees.

On the other hand, the sources rely on Berri's wisdom in calling for an election session after the opposition announced the name of its candidate, knowing that it will end up disrupting the Quorum of 86 deputies.

The sources ask whether the legislative session will be held before the elections or vice versa, especially since employees are waiting for increases, knowing that failure to approve them will lead to a deterioration in their living conditions.