BEIRUT -- Lebanon's president said Monday that the crisis-hit country could be going to "hell" if a new government was not formed, suggesting it would require a "miracle" for that to happen at this point.
The stark warning comes as the country struggles to contain a spiraling economic and financial crisis that threatens to nose-dive further in the coming weeks, as well as concerns of unrest in the fragile country also witnessing a surge in coronavirus cases and deaths.
In a televised address, President Michel Aoun criticized his political allies, the Shiite groups Hezbollah and Amal, for insisting on holding on to the Finance Ministry portfolio in any new government and on naming the Shiite ministers in the Cabinet.
Asked by a reporter where Lebanon is headed if no government is formed soon, Aoun replied: "To hell, of course. Why else would I be standing here speaking if this wasn't the case?"
He also criticized Prime Minister-designate Mustapha Adib for attempting to form a government and impose names for Cabinet positions without consulting with the parliamentary blocs.
The political deadlock has undermined a French initiative led by President Emmanuel Macron for a Lebanese government of independent specialists to enact desperately needed changes meant to extract the country from its crises.
The deadline for forming a government according to the French plan was missed last week, amid the impasse over the Finance Ministry portfolio.
Top Lebanese posts, including the job of president, prime minister and parliament speaker, are distributed according to sect, in line with the country's sectarian power-sharing agreement. While that agreement stipulates the even distribution of parliament and Cabinet seats between Muslims and Christians, it does not distribute seats according to sect.
Aoun, in his speech, said the Cabinet-formation crisis should not have happened because the challenges facing Lebanon "do not allow for wasting a single minute." He said no sect has the right to monopolize any Cabinet portfolio and urged the two Shiite groups to return to the constitution.
"We have offered reasonable solutions for forming a government, but they were not accepted by either side," he said.
He also offered an extremely bleak vision for the future.
"As positions become harder, there doesn't seem to be a near solution on the horizon," he said. Asked whether there was still a chance, he replied, "Maybe there will be a miracle."
Within an hour of Aoun's speech, the hashtag "we are going to hell" in Arabic was trending on Twitter in Lebanon.
Lebanon, a former French protectorate, is mired in the country's worst economic and financial crisis in its modern history. It defaulted on paying back its debt for the first time ever in March, and the local currency has collapsed, leading to hyperinflation and soaring poverty and unemployment.
The small, cash-strapped country is in desperate need of financial assistance, but France and other international powers have refused to provide aid before serious changes are made. The crisis is largely blamed on decades of systematic corruption and mismanagement by Lebanon's ruling class.
The crisis was worsened by the Aug. 4 explosion at Beirut's port caused by the detonation of thousands of tons of ammonium nitrate, which killed nearly 200 people, injured thousands and caused billions of dollars worth of damage.
Macron has described his initiative, which includes a road map and a timetable for changes, as "the last chance for this system."