Mustaqbal Lashes Out at Bassil, Rejects Possible National Dialogue Call
Al-Mustaqbal Movement on Tuesday blasted Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil and described him as the country’s “shadow president.”
“Shadow president Jebran Bassil spares no opportunity to talk in the name of the president of the republic, confirming that the two men’s obstruction will comes before all the national efforts seeking to form a government,” the Movement said in a statement, hours after a press conference by Bassil.
“Are we in the tenure of Jebran Bassil or in the tenure of Michel Aoun? Or has destiny thrown the Lebanese into a political quagmire run by Bassil and sponsored by Aoun?” Mustaqbal wondered.
Moreover, it said that Bassil has an “illusion” that his “exploitation” of Aoun’s post will enable him to “pounce on the premiership, defeat it, usurp the designation and formation powers, and consolidate the grip on the executive authority.”
“The fog of illusions has grown in Jebran’s head to the extent of believing that he can issue an arrest warrant for Lebanese leaders to come to the Baabda Palace under the national dialogue label,” the Movement added.
“This will not happen, no matter how much you maneuver, make adventures and hide behind the president to float yourself and sit around a table that you to be a bridge for fulfilling your dreams and illusions,” Mustaqbal went on to say, addressing Bassil.
It also accused Bassil of “leading the Lebanese into the hell that his president had promised.”
Bassil had warned earlier in the day that “should procrastination drag for more than a week,” the FPM would ask Aoun to call for a national dialogue conference in Baabda.
“Frankness around the table would certainly lead to expediting and facilitating formation, seeing as when things are clearly raised in everyone’s presence, tittle-tattle would stop and problems would be directly solved,” Bassil added.
He also pledged that should PM-designate Saad Hariri decide to boycott such a dialogue, the FPM would “think of a new initiative and more pressuring steps regarding the formation process.”
