Naharnet Newsdesk - Hariri-Al Walid Premiership Skirmish, How Serious?

Hariri-Al Walid Premiership Skirmish, How Serious?

Question marks have lately been raised in abundance about the seriousness of an alleged contest between Rafik Hariri and Prince Al Walid bin Talal over the premiership of Lebanon.
Editorialist Samir Mansour of An Nahar tackled the affair from the angle whether Lebanon's club of mostly Beiruti prime ministers would be able to swallow the membership of a new applicant.

"Relationship between the two men has long been cordial," Mansour wrote, recalling that Al Walid sent two of his private jets to Moscow when Hariri's plane developed engine trouble before his journey home from a visit to Russia.

"But this relationship was strained more than a month ago, when a skirmish by proxy broke out following a ceremony at the Baabda palace in which President Lahoud conferred a medal of honor on Al Walid for his contributions to the Lebanese economy," Mansour noted.

Hariri was angered by the jabs Al Walid took at the premier's economic policies in a news conference that followed the Baabda ceremony. Hariri was also irritated by Al Walid's failure to deny his interest in Lebanon's premiership in his capacity as the grandson of Riad Solh, Mansour contended.

It was then that demonstrations against Al Walid were staged around Mufti Rashid Kabbani's headquarters in Aisha Bakkar, which were followed by a counterattack of denunciations from Al Walid's camp, Mansour recalled.

The latest skirmish flared last week, when a Saudi businessman stood up at an economic conference in Beirut last week to ask the premier "with the greetings of Prince Al Walid" about the state of Lebanon's finances.

Al Walid used the occasion to put out an explanation through his press office, saying he asked no one to convey his greetings to Hariri. "I don't need an intermediary with premier Hariri. I send greetings to President Lahoud and Hariri as well," the statement quoted Al Walid as saying.

"This encounter added fuel to the fire and amidst these tensions a rumor swept Beirut like rapid fire that a new government was in the works with Al Walid on the helm. It looked like a certain apparatus was fanning the rumor, " the writer noted.

Mansour also noted that the so-called club of Lebanese premiers was exclusively an affair of Lebanon's Sunni Muslim community and is marked by inability to stomach new members.

Beirut, Updated 30 May 02, 13:22