The head of the “Free Patriotic Movement”, Representative Gebran Bassil, escalated his stances towards opponents and allies, led by “Hezbollah”, as he announced that he would run for the presidential elections “in the event of failure of the efforts, and our positions were considered based on weakness, instead of considering them based on caution.” Some efforts continue on the line of the presidential file, especially by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and the head of the “Progressive Socialist” Walid Jumblatt, while Berri has not yet set a date for the next election session.
While sources familiar with the Berri-Jumblatt movement are counting on the possibility that a breach may occur in the wall of the presidential file in the coming days, they point out that whether or not the Speaker of Parliament determines whether or not the next session will be confirmed between today (Monday) and tomorrow (Tuesday), noting that there is a consensus of Above all powers, there is no point in holding sessions that do not produce a president. She tells Asharq Al-Awsat: “The positivity lies in the movement taking place and not giving up, but there are no final data or indicators that can be built upon until now,” stopping at the five-party meeting that is expected to take place in Paris next week (and includes Saudi Arabia, the United States, and France). , Qatar, and Egypt), stressing that “any meeting will be useless if the atmosphere is not prepared for it at home and the agreement between the parties is not prepared.”
Less than a week after his meeting with a delegation from Hezbollah, which they described as “honest”, stressing the continuation of the alliance, Bassil went out yesterday (Sunday), reaffirming his previous positions, and hinting at confrontation by running for the presidential elections, at a time when he is still In it, its ally, Hezbollah, supports, without yet officially declaring it, the head of the Marada Movement, Suleiman Franjieh.
Basil’s positions came in a press conference, where he was remarkable for the slogan “We are alone” that was placed behind him, announcing the extension of a hand to everyone, and calling for “consultation hastily, bilaterally or collectively, and in any form, so that there is agreement on a small and quick program for implementation, and agreement on a short list of names.” To agree on one of them, or at least to vote on it if it is not possible to abbreviate it by one name.
In a position directed against Hezbollah, Bassil lamented “the resistance’s lack of conviction that what protects it from treachery is the gathering of all people around it, not just its environment, which is the project, not just the person, and the state, not just its president.” He said, “In the event that the efforts fail, and our positions are considered based on weakness instead of considering them based on caution, I will seriously consider running for the presidency of the republic, regardless of loss or gain, so that at least we have preserved the principle of eligibility for representation. And in the event that all our endeavors are rejected, and the intentions of exclusion are confirmed, we go to fierce political opposition against the entire system and the system, and I am here not threatening like others, but we do not die, and we have our options to live with our dignity without fighting with our partners.
And hinting at breaking up the alliance with Hezbollah, he said: “Partnership is the reason for Lebanon’s existence, and partnership is our weapon, and we will not abandon it. Understanding is to serve the partnership, and thus the partnership is a guarantee of understanding, not a victim of maintaining it. We are ready to conclude a new understanding with (Hezbollah) and with any political component about building the state in partnership, on the condition that it is implemented.
For his part, Representative Taymour Jumblatt confirmed, after meeting the sheikh of the mind of the Druze monotheistic sect, Sheikh Sami Abi al-Muna, that “the closed horizon in the country, the living and economic crises, the high price and the fluctuation of the dollar, and the crisis in the judiciary, in addition to the presidential vacancy, all require resorting to dialogue and communication between Everyone, because these crises affect everyone without exception. And he stressed that «(The Socialist) continues in its effort to try to bring points of view closer and to search for consensual names for the presidential elections, in order to secure the atmosphere that allows the election of a president who is acceptable to the extent required by everyone and is able to open the door to addressing what we went through in previous years. of problems.”
Source: aawsat