Hizbullah Fails to Convince Bassil of Berri's Initiative

Hizbullah secretary general’s political aide Hussein Khalil met two days ago with Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil in a bid to convince him of the initiative that Speaker Nabih Berri is readying to launch, highly informed political sources said.

Khalil failed to “soften” Bassil’s stance, the sources told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper in remarks published Monday.

Berri’s initiative does not give a one-third-plus-one share to any camp and takes into consideration that he would be authorized to find a solution for the row over the interior portfolio while the government would consist of 18 ministers, the sources noted.

“Berri has been informed that Khalil has failed to clinch Bassil’s approval on the initiative,” the sources said, adding that PM-designate Saad Hariri has shown “flexibility” towards it.

“Hizbullah does not intend to pressure its ally Bassil and it is settling for hoping that he join the settlement that Berri is preparing to promote,” the sources added.

“Hizbullah was not satisfied with its ally’s response but it meanwhile refrained from telling him that it would endorse it alone, because it does not intend to give up its relation with the FPM in the absence of an alternative that would grant it a political cover in the Christian community,” the sources went on to say.