Jumblat Slams Saniora, Advises Hariri to Learn Geopolitics
Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat accused former Premier Fouad Saniora of hoping for the failure of Saad Hariri as prime minister so that he returns to the premiership.
In an interview with the Qatari al-Watan daily on Monday, Jumblat said: “If I was Sheikh Saad I would have participated in Najib Miqati’s government without hesitation.”
Al-Mustaqbal bloc leader Saniora "hopes (to see) Hariri failing so that he returns to the premiership,” the Druze leader said without naming him.
When asked about Hariri’s remarks that he was betrayed by his former allies who named Miqati as premier, Jumblat told al-Watan: “Betrayal and political assassination are emotional words.”
Hariri “is out of the government today but could return tomorrow. This is the political game in democratic systems,” Jumblat said. “The best thing for him is to learn the lessons of geopolitics. Geopolitics means (to have) special ties with Syria based on the Taef accord and (to consider) Israel the enemy.”
The PSP leader reiterated that he named Miqati as premier when he saw that “the door to the Syrian-Saudi settlement’s success had been shut.”
He stressed that Damascus was not interfering in the cabinet formation process. “Our interests lie in having good relations with Syria. Saad Hariri had a historic chance to strike a personal deal and a political trust deal with President Bashar (Assad) when he went to Damascus but I don’t know why he didn’t succeed.”
Asked why he stopped backing the international tribunal, Jumblat said: “The court could be used to attack Lebanese unity and civil peace. Eventually, such tribunals could be seen as seeking justice but in reality they would be after political gains.”
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