Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri warned on Monday that the country would sink like the Titanic if it could not form a government.

“We will all sink, with no exceptions,” local media quoted him as saying at the opening of a session of parliament.

Meanwhile, Berri described the a 200-million-dollar advance payment for the Electricite du Liban (EDL) passed by the Parliament as a good step.

“We are at risk of full blackout,” the speaker said.

The energy ministry has earlier said there are no funds to pay for imports beyond March. The Zahrani power plant, one of Lebanon’s four main electricity producers, has shut down after its fuel ran out.

Meanwhile in his remarks on Monday, Speaker Berri stressed that the “constitution is clear” regarding caretaking tasks of the resigning government.

“Caretaking means handling issues as much as needed in a way that helps people and drives harm away, unless there are calls for making constitutional amendments, and this case is not for question.”

Source: Agencies