Mustaqbal-LF Ties Getting ‘Complicated’

Relations between al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri and Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea have become more complicated after the head of the LF endorsed his long-time rival for the presidential elections.

Newspapers published on Thursday said that a meeting was held by Hariri’s advisor Nader Hariri and LF official Melhem Riachi at the Center House a day earlier.

The former premier also held two telephone conversations with Geagea, they said.

But the attempts to bridge the gap between them are becoming “more complicated,” said al-Joumhouria.

However, sources close to Hariri denied to Voice of Lebanon radio (100.5) that the two officials have recently held phone conversations.

Geagea announced on Monday his support for Free Patriotic Movement founder MP Michel Aoun, putting him at loggerheads with Marada Movement chief lawmaker Suleiman Franjieh, who is Hariri’s candidate.

Geagea and Aoun, both presidential candidates, were angered late last year when Hariri nominated Franjieh for president without consulting them.

The political spectrum is now divided between supporters for Aoun and those backing Franjieh.

Several parliamentary blocs have not yet announced their stance from the rapprochement between the LF and the FPM, which makes it difficult to assess whether a president will be elected during the upcoming session next month.