Mikati shrugs off Berri's criticism of his performance

Prime Minister Najib Mikati responded Wednesday to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who accused him of not wanting to govern, saying he will continue to shoulder his responsibilities until an extraordinary government is formed. “We continue to shoulder our responsibility until conditions, following the National Dialogue session in Beiteddine, are ripe to form an extraordinary government,” Mikati said. President Michel Sleiman set Sept. 20 as the date for a new session of all-party talks to discuss a national defense strategy. In remarks published Wednesday by the local Al-Akhbar newspaper, Berri criticized Mikati, saying that the prime minister "does not want to govern, because when he formed the government, he -- like us -- did not know that Syria would witness [an uprising],” Berri said. Berri said that in his case, he remains in politics because he is sure of his “political calculations.” “Mikati, however, found himself in new circumstances that do not match his calculations,” Berri argued. Mikati responded, “Never before did I accept to respond to opponents, so how will I respond to a friend and a brother – Mr. Berri,” in remarks published Wednesday by the state-run National News Agency. “Governing in Lebanon is not something done by the prime minister, but by [governmental] institutions ... and Mr. Berri is a partner as [leader of] a political party and as Parliament Speaker,” he added. Mikati also said that Berri is aware of the “size of the burden on my shoulders.” “But I do not neglect my responsibilities and I do not hesitate in making the right decision at the right time,” Mikati said, while praising Berri for saying he would cut of the hands of those who block the airport road. Turning to Tripoli, north Lebanon, Mikati said he feared that the city’s gunbattles were a new attempt at dragging Lebanon into the Syrian unrest. “The bloody events taking place in Tripoli are, in some respects, a new attempt to push Lebanon into a conflict on a large scale,” Mikati said. The Daily Star