BEIRUT, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- The prospect of the ministerial statement adopted by the cabinet of new Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab and pending the parliament's vote of confidence is dim amid heavy public criticism, analysts said.

"The current cabinet has adopted the same approaches of the previous ones. Despite a few good provisions, the statement is, unfortunately, not realistic at all," Assaad Bechara, a political advisor to former Lebanese Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi, told Xinhua.

Bechara said what Lebanon needs is deep structural reforms, not just theories, citing the electricity problem that costs the treasury 2 billion U.S. dollars yearly.

Lack of electricity has been a headache for Lebanon for years. Successive governments failed to build power stations to solve the problem once and for all.

Rajeh Khoury, a columnist of An-Nahar, a leading Arabic-language daily newspaper in Lebanon, slammed the ministerial statement for not mapping out a clear plan for the fight against corruption.

"Judges are appointed by the same political parties that have led to the deterioration of the country," Khoury said, noting Lebanon needs an independent judicial system in the first place.

The Lebanese have been protesting against the current cabinet for days, holding signs reading "no confidence" and vowing to hold massive protests around the Parliament on Tuesday and Wednesday ahead of the vote of confidence.

Still, Elie Ferzli, deputy speaker of parliament, said the ministerial statement is acceptable since it has specified time limits for the implementation of reforms.

"We should give a vote of confidence for this government for it to be able to properly fulfill its duties and responsibilities," he said.

Since Oct. 17 last year, Lebanon has been witnessing nationwide protests aimed to change the political system that protestors claim has resulted in the current economic and financial deterioration. Enditem

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