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"Basically the talks on forming a government are just a way to buy time," Atrache told AFP.
A long-running feud over the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon, which is investigating the 2005 murder of former prime minister Rafiq Hariri, culminated in the collapse of the unity government last month.
Today, as outgoing prime minister Saad Hariri -- son of Rafiq -- prepares to make way for fellow billionaire Mikati, the deadlock between Hariri and his political rival Hezbollah shows no sign of breaking.
Hariri's government collapsed on January 12 when Hezbollah and its allies pulled 11 ministers from cabinet in a dispute over the Special Tribunal, which is reportedly poised to indict Hezbollah members over Rafiq Hariri's death.
While the Western-backed Hariri camp won a majority of seats in parliament in the last election, shifting alliances saw Mikati defeat Hariri with 68 out of a possible 128 parliament votes on January 25.
Mikati, 55, faces the daunting task of forming a cabinet as Hezbollah and Hariri go head-to-head over the Special Tribunal, based in the Netherlands, which the militant movement accuses of being a US-Israeli plot.
Mikati's first task will be to attempt to include all parties in his cabinet, as Hezbollah -- backed by Syria and Iran -- demands that Lebanon stop cooperating with the court and Hariri seeks a guarantee that his successor will see the tribunal through.
"Contacts are ongoing with all parties but we are still at a preliminary stage where nothing specific has been agreed upon," said a source close to Mikati who requested anonymity.
"We are still looking into a broad outline of what the next government will look like and have not yet begun to discuss the distribution of ministries," the source added.
"The government's shape will likely be determined by the final decision of (Hariri's) camp."
In an interview published Sunday, Mikati said he was determined to see all parties represented in his government, the form of which had become "clear" in his mind. He did not elaborate.
Sources have said that, should Hariri and his allies join, Mikati's cabinet would count 30 ministers representing all political parties.
"Otherwise, we will likely see a cabinet that includes centrists and representatives of the new (Hezbollah-led) majority or a government composed mainly of technocrats," said the source close to Mikati.
Former MP Ghattas Khoury, an adviser to Hariri, told AFP that the outgoing prime minister and his allies were waiting for Mikati to clearly respond to their demands before deciding whether to join his government.
"We are still waiting for answers to our questions, which must be stated in our meetings with prime minister Mikati ... before we make a decision on whether to participate," Khoury said.
"If what they want is to form a government, they now hold the majority and they can do that," he added, referring to the Hezbollah-led alliance. "But if they want our participation, we have set our conditions."
Another issue Mikati could face is the distribution of portfolios among Lebanon's many political parties, which have a history of haggling over who gets which ministries.
"When it gets down to the division of portfolios, the fight for shares in government will overshadow all other issues," Atrache said.
Lebanon's constitution does not set a deadline for a cabinet formation, and previous governments have sometimes taken months to see the light.
Mikati has said there was "no specific time limit for the birth of a government."
Leaders allied with Hezbollah have said Hariri's demands virtually guaranteed he and his allies would not be part of the next government, with Syrian-backed Christian MP Sleiman Franjieh calling the requests "impossible."
"We do not want to drag the same issues that brought down the previous government into the new government," said MP Michel Aoun, a key Christian ally of Hezbollah.
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A long-running feud over the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon, which is investigating the 2005 murder of former prime minister Rafiq Hariri, culminated in the collapse of the unity government last month.
Today, as outgoing prime minister Saad Hariri -- son of Rafiq -- prepares to make way for fellow billionaire Mikati, the deadlock between Hariri and his political rival Hezbollah shows no sign of breaking.
Hariri's government collapsed on January 12 when Hezbollah and its allies pulled 11 ministers from cabinet in a dispute over the Special Tribunal, which is reportedly poised to indict Hezbollah members over Rafiq Hariri's death.
While the Western-backed Hariri camp won a majority of seats in parliament in the last election, shifting alliances saw Mikati defeat Hariri with 68 out of a possible 128 parliament votes on January 25.
Mikati, 55, faces the daunting task of forming a cabinet as Hezbollah and Hariri go head-to-head over the Special Tribunal, based in the Netherlands, which the militant movement accuses of being a US-Israeli plot.
Mikati's first task will be to attempt to include all parties in his cabinet, as Hezbollah -- backed by Syria and Iran -- demands that Lebanon stop cooperating with the court and Hariri seeks a guarantee that his successor will see the tribunal through.
"Contacts are ongoing with all parties but we are still at a preliminary stage where nothing specific has been agreed upon," said a source close to Mikati who requested anonymity.
"We are still looking into a broad outline of what the next government will look like and have not yet begun to discuss the distribution of ministries," the source added.
"The government's shape will likely be determined by the final decision of (Hariri's) camp."
In an interview published Sunday, Mikati said he was determined to see all parties represented in his government, the form of which had become "clear" in his mind. He did not elaborate.
Sources have said that, should Hariri and his allies join, Mikati's cabinet would count 30 ministers representing all political parties.
"Otherwise, we will likely see a cabinet that includes centrists and representatives of the new (Hezbollah-led) majority or a government composed mainly of technocrats," said the source close to Mikati.
Former MP Ghattas Khoury, an adviser to Hariri, told AFP that the outgoing prime minister and his allies were waiting for Mikati to clearly respond to their demands before deciding whether to join his government.
"We are still waiting for answers to our questions, which must be stated in our meetings with prime minister Mikati ... before we make a decision on whether to participate," Khoury said.
"If what they want is to form a government, they now hold the majority and they can do that," he added, referring to the Hezbollah-led alliance. "But if they want our participation, we have set our conditions."
Another issue Mikati could face is the distribution of portfolios among Lebanon's many political parties, which have a history of haggling over who gets which ministries.
"When it gets down to the division of portfolios, the fight for shares in government will overshadow all other issues," Atrache said.
Lebanon's constitution does not set a deadline for a cabinet formation, and previous governments have sometimes taken months to see the light.
Mikati has said there was "no specific time limit for the birth of a government."
Leaders allied with Hezbollah have said Hariri's demands virtually guaranteed he and his allies would not be part of the next government, with Syrian-backed Christian MP Sleiman Franjieh calling the requests "impossible."
"We do not want to drag the same issues that brought down the previous government into the new government," said MP Michel Aoun, a key Christian ally of Hezbollah.
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