Head of the Free Patriotic Movement Gebran Bassil. (Credit: AFP/file photo)
BEIRUT — Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) leader Gebran Bassil said Sunday he will remain "flexible" in discussions over who to name as Lebanon's next president, but insisted on the role of "Christians in the choice of the future head of state," a post that traditionally goes to a Maronite.
"We will continue to be flexible," Bassil reportedly said during a meeting in Paris with the Rally for Lebanon, a group in France close to the FPM.
"If you refuse a first name, there will be a second and a third. There are an infinite number of names on which we could have a partial or total agreement, whether [at the] Christian or national [level]," said Bassil, according to tweets by his press office.
Bassil has not yet publicly proposed a name for president, though in recent months has positioned himself as a kingmaker with a say on who will get the job.
Lebanon has had no president since FPM founder and former president Michel Aoun's term ended Oct. 31. Eleven Parliament sessions dedicated to voting in a successor have so far failed amid a lack of compromise between parties.
Hezbollah and its ally the Amal Movement, support Marada Movement leader and Syria-friendly candidate Sleiman Frangieh.
Unofficially, France supports Frangieh, but French diplomats have stated they do not support any candidate. Saudi Arabia has called for consensus around the next president.
According to some observers, Paris could pressure Bassil to endorse Frangieh’s candidacy. Bassil is expected to meet in the coming days in Paris with Patrick Durel, adviser to President Emmanuel Macron in charge of the Lebanese file.