Fatfat: Berri-Hizbullah Harmonize on Package Deal, Hariri Nonchalant for Premiership
Al-Mustaqbal MP Ahmed Fatfat said on Friday that Speaker Nabih Berri and Hizbullah are in harmony with regard to the 'package deal' as for the parliamentary and presidential elections, as he stressed that Mustaqbal Movement chief ex-PM Saad Hariri is not enthusiastic to become a Premier under the patronage of Hizbullah.
“Speaker Berri tried to bring things together, but it is clear that he is taking the same path as that of Hizbullah with regard to the package deal,” Fatfat told al-Joumhouria daily.
Berri had launched an initiative, which Mustaqbal rejected, aimed at ending Lebanon's political impasse. He called for shortening the term of parliament and that the elections be held based on the 1960 law should political forces fail to agree on a new electoral one.
He also called for staging the presidential elections after the parliamentary ones and forming a national unity government.
Referring to the latest approach used by Hizbullah that was clear in a speech delivered by its party leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Fatfat said: “Hizbullah's new rhetoric of rewards instead of punishment is useless. There is no credibility or commitment in the words they say.”
Nasrallah had hinted in a speech on August 13 that Hizbullah would accept the re-designation of Hariri as prime minister in return for the election of MP Michel Aoun as president and the re-election of Speaker Nabih Berri as head of parliament.
“There are no guarantees nor credibility but within the framework of the parliament. Let them go to the parliament if they wish to elect a president, they will not change our convictions with regard to Aoun,” added the MP.
“Credibility lies in the parliament’s work and the work of the institutions, we need no other guarantees not from Hizbullah nor form any other party. Hariri is not in a hurry to become a premier under the patronage of Hizbullah,” he concluded.
Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 and Hizbullah, Aoun's Change and Reform bloc and some of their allies have been boycotting the parliament's electoral sessions, stripping them of the needed quorum.
Hariri, who is close to Saudi Arabia, launched an initiative in late 2015 to nominate Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh for the presidency but his proposal was met with reservations from the country's main Christian parties as well as Hizbullah.
Hariri's move prompted Geagea to endorse the nomination of Aoun, his long-time Christian rival.
The supporters of Aoun's presidential bid argue that he is more eligible than Franjieh to become president due to the size of his parliamentary bloc and his bigger influence in the Christian community.
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