Al-Rahi to Berri: Christmas greeting should've been president election

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi has chided Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri during a phone call, media reports said on Tuesday.

Berri called al-Rahi on Monday to offer Christmas greetings, which prompted the patriarch to admonish him, saying: “I was waiting for you to greet me through the election of a president.”

Berri responded by reminding al-Rahi that he had called for dialogue twice and that his calls had fallen on deaf ears.

“The priority today is for the election of a president,” Berri added.

The patriarch for his part reiterated that “the state cannot function without a head” and that “without a president Lebanon would die.”