The leader of the Free Patriotic Movement MP Gebran Bassil. (Credit: AFP archive photo)
BEIRUT — The head of the Free Patriotic Movement Gebran Bassil said Sunday that the so-called Mar Mikhael agreement which allied his party with Hezbollah since 2006 "did not end but is on the verge" of falling. Bassil's statement comes amid tension between the two parties following a disagreement regarding attending a caretaker cabinet meeting that took place on Dec. 5.
"Is it normal in a country like Lebanon, with its rules, constitution and [national] pact that a caretaker government would meet to approve terms, a large portion of which are unnecessary, in the absence of a president and eight ministers who represent an essential group?" Bassil said in an interview Sunday with Lebanese broadcaster LBCI.
For the first time in its history, Lebanon is in the midst of a double vacancy at the level of the government and the presidency. On Dec. 5, Najib Mikati's caretaker government met but was boycotted by FPM-affiliated ministers.
This decision, and the support of Hezbollah for Bassil's rival, Sleiman Frangieh, for the presidential elections, stirred tensions between Hezbollah and the FPM. Parliament has so far met nine times without succeeding in electing a new president.
Neither Joseph Aoun, nor Sleiman Frangieh
Regarding the presidential elections, Bassil said that he rejects the equation of having to choose between Army Commander General Joseph Aoun and Marada Movement leader Sleiman Frangieh.
"No one can impose the name of a candidate or an ultimatum between two names on the Free Patriotic Movement," Bassil said, stressing that he refused any "compromise from abroad."
"How does Hezbollah hold on to a certain presidential candidate that we do not support when there is an agreement between us, based on strategies?" Bassil posited.
"I have a personal interest and linked to the FPM in an election of Sleiman Frangieh, but this is not the case as far as the country is concerned, and I think only of the interest of the country," he continued.
The FPM leader further criticized Hezbollah's demand for a president who "protects the resistance," saying that he wants "a president who protects the state, the partnership in the state and the resistance." Bassil added that his party "is working seriously on an internal level to appoint a serious candidate for president."
On the other hand, regarding a possible dialogue meeting that could be convened by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Bassil said that his party would participate, although he had previously refused such a proposal. "For the dialogue to succeed, it requires preparation. A failure would be catastrophic," he warned.