BEIRUT, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said on Wednesday government work might stumble because of political tension, al-Manar TV reported, a reference to a row involving President Michel Aoun’s son-in-law.
A political standoff between Berri and Aoun escalated this week when Aoun’s son-in-law, Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, was caught on camera calling Berri “a thug”, leading to protests in Beirut and gunfire in one part of the city.
Berri, a Shi’ite, said on Wednesday he wanted Bassil to apologise “to the Lebanese” for the remark. Bassil, a Maronite Christian, had expressed regret for the remark in comments to a Lebanese newspaper on Monday, but this has done little to contain anger in Berri’s camp. (Reporting by Dahlia Nehme; Editing by Tom Perry and Peter Graff)