The former leader of the Progressive Socialist Party Walid Joumblatt. (Credit: AFP Archive)
"I have no problem with the election of Sleiman Frangieh or anyone else" to the presidency of Lebanon, said Walid Joumblatt, former leader of the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP), in remarks reported on Wednesday by the daily Al-Akhbar, adding, however, that this position "is not that of certain members of the Democratic Gathering," the PSP's parliamentary bloc.
Without a president since Oct. 31, 2022, Lebanon has been unable to find a successor to Michel Aoun. Members of parliament have failed 12 times to elect a new head of state. Frangieh, leader of the Marada Movement, is backed by the Amal-Hezbollah tandem in the race for the presidency.
"We've been going around in circles for two years waiting for the Christians to agree," said Joumblatt. "Personally, I have no hostile position towards anyone. I am in favor of anyone who can fill this position, and I have no problem with the election of Sleiman Frangieh, or anyone else. I know that this is not the position of some members of the Democratic Gathering, but it is mine," he added.
This position has not been met with unanimous approval within the PSP, starting with Walid Joumblatt's son, Taymour Joumblatt, who told L'Orient-Le Jour last July: "I cannot vote for Sleiman Frangieh."
"Things can't go on like this when all the positions held are on an interim basis," added the older Joumblatt, welcoming however the extension of the mandate of army commander Joseph Aoun.
Walid Joumblatt received Frangieh at his residence in Clemenceau in Beirut on Jan. 15, giving the impression that the Marada leader was restarting the push for his presidential aspirations.