Less than 24 hours had passed since the election of General Joseph Aoun as president and the beginning of his official activities at the Baabda Palace, when the first challenges of his term emerged.

These challenges took the form of an urgent political confrontation regarding the designation of the person who would form the new government. This confrontation was preceded by growing positive feedback and widespread acclaim for the inaugural speech delivered by the newly elected president, which was met with a wave of both domestic and international welcome.

The content of this forward-looking speech, which promised to restore the dignity of the state by all standards of prestige, was, implicitly, the main catalyst behind the rising calls for the designation and subsequent formation of a government that would meet the high aspirations expressed in the president's speech, starting with the appointment of an unconventional figure.

The initial signs of confrontation regarding the designation process coincided with the first early action announced by the presidency after President Aoun assumed his duties, setting next Monday as the date for the mandatory parliamentary consultations to designate the new prime minister. While the Shiite duo, and possibly others, began to express their insistence on reappointing Prime Minister Najib Mikati to form the first government of the new term, the opposition forces and the newly formed majority that elected President Joseph Aoun increasingly called for the change of the prime minister.

By Monday morning, the positions of the parliamentary blocs on the designation issue are expected to take shape, as discussions and consultations continue to resolve this critical matter.

This article is an adaptation of an Arabic piece published in "Annahar" newspaper.