Maronite Patriarch Bechara al- Rai receiving FPM leader Gebran Bassil (center) in Diman, Aug. 13, 2022. Twitter photo @bkerki
The past weekend can be seen as a time of radicalizing positions in the run-up to the presidential elections.With a fortnight to go before the deadline for electing a new president (starting Aug. 31), the country’s main Maronite leaders — LF leader Samir Geagea and FPM leader Gebran Bassil, who are far apart — have found themselves on a path of verbal escalation.Both perceived as serious presidential candidates, or at least as “president makers,” Geagea and Bassil have raised the bar in their rhetoric, each setting out his conditions for electing a successor to current President Michel Aoun, whose term expires on Oct. 31.On Saturday, it was Bassil who got the ball rolling from Diman, the Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rai’s summer residence. After a meeting with the prelate, Bassil took to the podium and spoke of how he sees the profile...
The past weekend can be seen as a time of radicalizing positions in the run-up to the presidential elections.With a fortnight to go before the deadline for electing a new president (starting Aug. 31), the country’s main Maronite leaders — LF leader Samir Geagea and FPM leader Gebran Bassil, who are far apart — have found themselves on a path of verbal escalation.Both perceived as serious presidential candidates, or at least as “president makers,” Geagea and Bassil have raised the bar in their rhetoric, each setting out his conditions for electing a successor to current President Michel Aoun, whose term expires on Oct. 31.On Saturday, it was Bassil who got the ball rolling from Diman, the Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rai’s summer residence. After a meeting with the prelate, Bassil took to the podium and spoke of how he sees...
Humanitarian convoy reaches Rmeish, Ain Ibl, Dibil despite obstacles
