Rahi Says Lebanon Needs ‘Real Statesmen’ to End Baabda Vacuum
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi said on Tuesday that Lebanon needs “real statesmen” to end the presidential vacuum.
“We need real statesmen to be able to elect a president,” al-Rahi said in his sermon during a mass he celebrated on the occasion of Saint Maroun in Bkirki.
The patriarch urged Maronites to “build bridges rather than walls” among different factions.
He gave his blessing to any initiative that removes the obstacles facing the presidential elections.
Al-Rahi was referring to Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea’s endorsement of the candidacy of his long-time rival Free Patriotic Movement founder MP Michel Aoun.
Despite Geagea’s backing for Aoun last month, the parliament failed once again Monday to elect a new president over the growing differences between the rival blocs.
Baabda Palace has been vacant since the term of President Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014.
The Bkirki mass was attended by MPs Antoine Zahra and Gilberte Zouein, and Marada Movement official Youssef Saadeh as representatives of Christian parties.
They later held a closed-door meeting with al-Rahi.
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