Aoun, Geagea upbeat after consultations with Hariri
Hussein Dakroub/The Daily Star/ October 01/16
BEIRUT: Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri met separately Friday with MP Michel Aoun and Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea, capping five days of intensive consultations with various political leaders aimed at ending the presidential void that has paralyzed Parliament and crippled the government’s work.
Geagea sounded upbeat about resolving the crisis after his meeting with Hariri, saying that the presidential election has entered a new phase in light of the consultations launched by the head of the Future Movement earlier this week. “The presidential election crisis has entered a new phase and I am optimistic. The results [of Hariri’s consultations] will emerge before the next [Parliament] session [on Oct. 31] to elect a president,” Geagea told reporters after Hariri left the LF leader’s residence in Maarab, north of Beirut, without making a statement. However, Hariri’s flurry of consultations has apparently led to the emergence of new alliances over the presidential deadlock and brought the Future Movement closer to the possibility of endorsing Aoun’s presidential bid at the expense of dropping its support for Marada Movement leader MP Sleiman Frangieh.
While Frangieh’s presidential chances appear to be waning in favor of Aoun’s bid, a new alliance grouping Speaker Nabih Berri, MP Walid Jumblatt and Frangieh was reportedly in the making to oppose the possible election of Aoun as president.
But if Hariri, who heads the largest bloc in Parliament with 33 MPs, eventually decided to vote for Aoun, whose candidacy is also backed by the LF, Hezbollah and some of its March 8 allies, this would secure a sufficient parliamentary majority to ensure the election of the founder of the Free Patriotic Movement as the next president, despite opposition by Berri, Frangieh and Jumblatt.
After meeting Geagea in Maarab Friday evening, Hariri drove to Rabieh, north of Beirut, for crucial talks with Aoun, a longtime rival who has been counting on the Future Movement’s support to boost his chances of being elected. As in his talks with other leaders, Hariri did not talk to reporters after his meeting with Aoun, which was also attended by FPM leader and Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, and Nader Hariri, chief of Hariri’s staff. The OTV television station, an FPM mouthpiece, said the talks were positive and both sides agreed to continue communications. The last meeting between the two leaders was held in February 2015.
Hariri’s visits to Rabieh and Maarab are part of his shuttle diplomacy to resolve the presidential crisis, which has entered a third year amid lingering, sharp differences between the political parties. Since his return to Beirut last week, Hariri has met with Frangieh, Jumblatt, Berri, Kataeb Party chief MP Sami Gemayel and former President Amine Gemayel. Media reports said he might also meet with the country’s top spiritual leaders, including Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai who has been pleading with parliamentary blocs and politicians to quickly elect a president.
Parliament Wednesday failed for the 45th time in more than two years to convene to elect a president due to a lack of quorum, prompting Berri to set a new session for Oct. 31.
Geagea, who endorsed Aoun’s presidential bid in January to counter Hariri’s support for Frangieh’s candidacy, said the gap with Hariri was narrowing and hinted that the former premier might be exploring new options. He added that the results of Hariri’s flurry of activity would emerge ahead of the Parliament session on Oct. 31. “Hariri is not adamant on his position. He is open to all options and he will continue his tour of politicians,” Geagea said. “Don’t wait for Hariri’s final stance anytime soon. We are on the road which Hariri is trying to pave to reach the presidential election.
“Differences with [former] Prime Minister Hariri over the presidential issue are narrowing,” he said, reiterating the LF’s support for Aoun. Geagea rejected proposals for the election of a middle-of-the-road candidate for the presidency as well as Berri’s proposal for a full-package deal to end the deadlock.
“We have supported Aoun and we continue to do so. It is unacceptable to put conditions on the presidential candidate. Therefore, for us the principle of [Berri’s proposed] package is out of the question,” he said.
Geagea said that Berri’s tough stance on the presidency issue had been coordinated with Hezbollah. He added that Hezbollah does not want the election of a president, even if it was Aoun.
“Hezbollah must take a clear stance and a frank option, especially since matters are heading today more and more toward what’s called in English the ‘endgame,’” the LF chief said.
Geagea’s remarks came hours after Berri stuck to his position on a “full-package” deal, which includes the election of a president, an agreement on a new voting system and the shape of the government, as the only solution to the deadlock. Berri, in a statement issued by his press office, also denied a personal feud between him and Aoun. The statement said that some media outlets indicated that there is a personal dispute between Berri and a certain candidate, a clear reference to Aoun. “But the truth is that the proposals [Berri] presented and put at the disposal of everyone reflect his adherence to the national dialogue agenda and they do not target any certain candidate,” the statement said.
It added that the dialogue agenda, which includes Berri’s package proposal, is the “mandatory path to a stable political situation, preservation of constitutional institutions and a comprehensive solution that begins with the election of a president.” Berri’s statement came apparently in response to an article published Friday in Al-Akhbar newspaper in which its editor-in-chief, Ibrahim al-Amin, claimed that the speaker was blocking Aoun’s presidential bid. Responding to Berri’s statement, Aoun said in a statement issued Friday night: “We also, when we announce our faith in and keenness on the National Charter and the Constitution, we don’t aim to criticize any official, but to rescue the system and preserve the rights of everyone.
At any rate, we have adhered to what the Lebanese agree on through their legitimate institutions as well as at the dialogue table.”Referring to reports claiming that Berri was seeking to scuttle an agreement on the election of Aoun as president, the statement said: “Is there anyone who wants a compromise and is searching for the best formula to promote it? Or is there anyone who wants to torpedo the compromise? The answer is in the next few days at the end of Hariri’s tour [of politicians].
”Separately, U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Sigrid Kaag discussed the presidential deadlock and regional developments in separate meetings with Hariri and Ammar Musawi, Hezbollah’s international relations officer.
Hariri is expected to visit Moscow next week for talks with Russian officials on the Lebanese crisis and developments in the region.
