Jumblat rejects presidential 'bargain', warns of vacuum
Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat has described the calls for a bargain involving the presidency and the PM post as a “heresy,” stressing that there should be “a harmonious team.”
Asked about the Iranian-Saudi reconciliation and its possible impact on Lebanon, Jumblat told al-Akhbar newspaper that “some top leaders in Lebanon” must “understand these changes and head to an acceptable settlement, instead of betting on intransigence and vacuum.”
“Vacuum rekindles my partitioning concerns,” Jumblat warned.
Noting that both Suleiman Franjieh and Michel Mouawad are “confrontation candidates,” the PSP leader said “it’s about time we sought a consensual formula.”
“When I read a statement by (Lebanese Forces leader) Samir Geagea, I get surprised how he says that he prefers vacuum while the lira witnesses a dramatic deterioration every day,” Jumblat added.
“At least this essential matter must be taken into consideration,” the PSP leader said.
Geagea responsed to Jumblat’s accusation later on Tuesday, saying that he has “never preferred vacuum” and that he wants to “keep the chance to fill the presidential post with a real and serious president.”
Asked whether “Hezbollah’s concerns” should be taken into consideration in choosing the president, Jumblat told al-Akhbar: “What concerns? No one can stab the resistance, and I had mentioned that those clinging to so-called international resolutions such as 1559 are living in another world.”
Source: Naharnet
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