Lebanon's Prime Minister-designate Omar Karami said he will step down after failing to form a government including opposition and loyalists. It is widely expected he will formally submit his resignation to President Emile Lahoud this Thursday after a formal meeting of the pro-Syrian Ain al-Tineh grouping which Karami is a leading member of. The delay in the official announcement has increased speculation that the president will attempt to postpone May's scheduled parliamentary elections while it attempts to form a new Cabinet.Following a meeting with Parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri, Karami said: "I am not willing to form a government similar to the one we had before and I came to put the speaker in picture." He added: "I will visit President Emile Lahoud on Wednesday to inform him of my decision but I will not formally announce my resignation until I
Karami fired a parting shot at the country's political opposition and blamed them for his resignation and the continuing political deadlock which leaves Lebanon without an effective government. He said: "They are the ones who rejected my invitations to join me in a national unity government. Of course they are responsible. Our hands were open to them and we were ready to discuss any issue. Any issue." Sources close to the Cabinet said Lahoud will launch a last-ditch attempt later today to convince the prime minister-designate not to step down. It is understood that Lahoud will instead ask Karami to form a transitional Cabinet composed of figures that will not run for the next parliamentary elections as The Daily Star called for on Tuesday.