Published Tuesday, November 26, 2013
It seems that the Future Party is seriously considering extending Lebanese President Michel Suleiman’s term in office, particularly if efforts to turn the tables on the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria fail.
But this is not a view shared by their Christian March 14 allies, who prefer to float candidates from among them as a possible alternative, although their chances of success remain slim.
Future leader Fouad Siniora, for example, would like to see March 14 nominate a weak Christian personality that cannot stand up to the Sunni prime minister, while at the same time provoking March 8’s number one contender Michel Aoun.
In this regard, Siniora believes that former minister John Obeid is eligible for the spot, particularly given that some elements of March 8 and Druze leader Walid Jumblatt have no objections to putting his name forward.
However, given the complicated and delicate situation in Syria, it may not be wise to go with an independent such as Obeid, and therefore March 14 is trying to float the idea of extension for Suleiman, hoping to convince him to take more hard-line positions toward Hezbollah.
No doubt the Lebanese president’s delayed visit to Saudi Arabia was part of this effort. Not only was Future leader Saad Hariri invited to Suleiman’s meeting with the Saudi king without his knowledge, but his royal host is said to have barely paid any attention to what Suleiman had to say, with some sources reporting that the monarch spoke little more than six words to the Lebanese president throughout the meeting.
So when Suleiman tried to talk about Lebanon’s policy of disassociation toward the crisis in Syria, hoping to convince the Saudi king of curtailing some of his country’s activities in Lebanon, the monarch simply said, “God willing.” When Suleiman explained the importance of the army in maintaining stability, the response was, “not necessarily.” Finally, when the president raised the need to form a new government, “not now” was the king’s stern retort.
When his earlier trip to the kingdom was canceled, Suleiman knew that he was being punished for not carrying out his responsibilities as Riyadh would have liked. The president was not doing enough to quickly form a government that would exclude Hezbollah, not to mention his reluctance to call out the Resistance on its involvement in the fighting in Syria.
When Suleiman returned from Saudi Arabia, many in March 14 felt uneasy, prompting them to try to shore up the president with talk about the Baabda
Declaration, which he considers one of his highest achievements in office. The Christians among them, however, did not want an early end to the presidential race, hoping they get a chance to prove their mettle by putting forward their own candidates.
But at the end of the day, they do not have any such privilege and are obligated to sit quietly until Riyadh makes its decision. The only role they can play now is to be part of an orchestra to demonize Hezbollah, thus justifying the terrorist attacks against it.
While everyone is waiting for some sort of breakthrough in the political deadlock, either due to developments in Syria or as a result of the recent agreement on Iran’s nuclear program, Suleiman prefers the status quo because it is what will allow him to stay in the presidential palace for several more years … God help us!
Ibrahim al-Amin is editor-in-chief of Al-Akhbar.
This article is an edited translation from the Arabic Edition.