Geagea Warns of 'Appalling Risks' Shall Hariri's Initiative Fail
Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea warned that the failure of al-Mustaqbal Movement chief ex-PM Saad Hariri's initiative to bring MP Michel Aoun to the post of the presidency, will open Lebanon to “horrifying” risks, as he stressed that Hariri is very serious with regard to Aoun's nomination, the pan-Arab Asharq al-Awsat daily reported on Saturday.
“Hariri is serious with regard to his initiative, but he only needs time to build an understanding with Aoun and to convince his supporters to elect him after the shifting political relations between the two parties,” Geagea told the daily in an interview.
Geagea added that he was convinced that Hizbullah does not want founder of the Free Patriotic Movement, Aoun, or anyone else to become a president, it “prefers vacuum because a weak State means that the party will become strong and vice versa.”
Hariri's recent return to Lebanon has triggered a flurry of rumors and media reports about a possible presidential settlement and the possibility that the former premier has finally decided to endorse Aoun for the presidency in a bid to break the deadlock.
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.
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.
Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 and Hizbullah, MP Michel 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.
Source: Naharnet
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