Despite hopeful soundings from Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir and loyalist expectations of a breakthrough in the current political stalemate, it is increasingly unlikely that Lebanon's opposition will take part in any government until after the elections. After arriving back in Beirut after his high-profile visit to the U.S., Sfeir said some opposition leaders told him they "might share" in the new government. But in addition to the opposition's well-known demands they also said they would not settle for "one or two symbolic" Cabinet seats, insisting instead on a 50-50 division of seats.Sfeir, who commands strong support in opposition circles, said: "I cannot decide for them, as it is up to the politicians to decide their next moves." Just to confuse things even more. Opposition MPs and figures handed in a petition to both the UN and the Arab League summit calling for an independent investigation into Hariri's death. It also calls for the "immediate resignation" of the heads of Lebanon's six security-services and the public prosecutor "in order to get at the truth." Premier-designate Omar Karami, who has insisted he would resign again if he fails to form a national unity government, will dispatch his envoys to meet with Sfeir, and in separate meetings with opposition leaders remains hopeful for a breakthrough, but following a week of further recriminations between loyalists and opposition in the wake of the New Jdeideh bombing, success is likely to remain elusive.