Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rai talking to Georges Atallah and Nada Boustani, two deputies of the Free Patriotic Movement, in the presence of Martine Najm Kteily, the party's vice-president for political affairs, in Diman, Sept. 2, 2024. (Credit: The CPL X account)
Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) leader Gebran Bassil is gearing up for a showdown in October. After the departure — voluntary or otherwise — of four MPs from his parliamentary bloc (Elias Bou Saab, Alain Aoun, Simon Abi Ramia and Ibrahim Kanaan), Bassil appears determined to exact his revenge.
The upcoming election session for parliamentary committee chairs, scheduled in a few weeks, seems like the perfect opportunity. Ibrahim Kanaan currently leads the influential Finance and Budget Committee, while Simon Abi Ramia chairs the less prominent Youth and Sports Committee. Alain Aoun serves as the secretary-general of the Parliament Bureau.
Bassil will likely attempt to oust these dissenters from their parliamentary roles, replacing them with loyalists. This would send a clear message to the rebels that their political careers owe more to the party than their individual merits. Meanwhile, the dissenters are not taking this lightly; they are working to form a unified bloc to counter their former leader’s maneuvers.
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Parliament is slated to convene on Oct. 22 to begin its new regular session, which opens on the first Tuesday after Oct. 15. Over the years, this parliamentary milestone has usually passed without much notice, thanks to Speaker Nabih Berri’s knack for securing pre-election agreements. This year, however, things are more complicated, with parliament becoming a battleground between the FPM and its former MPs, starting with Kanaan.
Since 2009, Kanaan has chaired the Finance and Budget Committee, which has been a cornerstone of the FPM’s so-called “fight against corruption.” In a 2013 book “Le quitus impossible,” Kanaan accused the government of then Prime Minister Fouad Siniora (2005-2008) of manipulating accounts and misappropriating public funds. Siniora, in response, published his own book accusing Kanaan of slander.
More recently, Kanaan was instrumental in passing several state budgets, earning him praise from Bassil himself, notably during the 2022 electoral campaign in Metn — a moment captured in a video that recently went viral on social media.
Berri’s test
But with Kanaan’s resignation, Bassil has recalculated his strategy.
“It is up to us to choose the chairs of the committees that fall under our quota,” a senior FPM official told L’Orient-Le Jour on condition of anonymity, issuing a thinly veiled threat to the Metn MP who left the party in late August.
The FPM official admitted, however, that the party has not yet finalized its next steps, with serious discussions about the committees set to begin in late September.
For now, the ball is in Berri’s court.
“We will see how the Speaker handles this situation. Will he take part in efforts to tie our hands and diminish our influence in the committees?” the FPM official added. This maneuver comes as Bassil makes overtures to Berri’s camp regarding the presidential election, signaling his willingness to engage in dialogue.
Regardless, the FPM will need to consider another factor: The dissidents’ calculations leading up to this showdown.
“We are ready for all scenarios,” said the FPM official, while noting that the anti-Bassil camp remains somewhat disorganized.
“We haven’t started our preparations yet,” a close associate of Kanaan said, adding that “all stakeholders, including the Lebanese Forces (LF), commend Kanaan’s track record as head of the Finance Committee.”
Some political circles do not rule out the possibility that Bassil’s opponents might rally around the dissident MPs to help them retain their posts as part of traditional political score-settling.
Kanaan appears to be seeking another term to score a win against the FPM, with which his rift continues to widen. On Monday, Kanaan expressed his outrage in a post on X over an “orchestrated campaign” tarnishing his reputation and accusing him of transferring a million dollars abroad amid the 2019 economic crisis. “Those responsible for this campaign will face legal action,” he said, in what was perceived as a message aimed at the FPM’s digital operatives. The FPM quickly issued a statement denying involvement in such actions.
As Oct. 22 approaches, Kanaan and his allies are focused on forming a parliamentary bloc “guided by the historical principles of the Maronite Patriarchate,” as one party insider put it.
To this end, they plan to meet with Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rai in Diman on Thursday. As a counter-move, Bassil sent two MPs, Nada Boustani and Georges Atallah, along with Martine Najm Kteily — the party’s vice president for political affairs — to Diman on Monday to “explain what really happened with some of the party’s MPs recently,” according to a post on the FPM’s X account.
This article was originally published in L'Orient-Le Jour and translated by Sahar Ghoussoub.