The leader of the Free Patriotic Movement, Gebran Bassil. (Credit: AFP)
The head of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), Gebran Bassil, called on Tuesday for "an inter-Christian agreement with the Lebanese Forces among others, and a consensus on a list of potential presidential candidates that would encourage the FPM to show openness and other parties not to reject them," less than 10 days ahead of a session that could elect a president for Lebanon. The FPM leader also called it 'unacceptable' for a candidate to run without Christian support, noting that the head of the Lebanese Forces, Samir Geagea, was "the one who enjoyed popular legitimacy."
The parliament speaker, Nabih Berri, scheduled a new parliamentary session for Jan. 9, 2025, intended to end two years of presidential vacancy following the end of Michel Aoun's term on Oct. 31, 2022, due to internal political tensions. However, the outcome of this session remains uncertain.
'Our candidate is consensus'
In an interview with al-Joumhouria, Bassil stated that the FPM did not have a presidential candidate.
"Our candidate is consensus, and we accept the one who enjoys the broadest consensus," he said, calling for the election of a president for all Lebanese, a reformist, determined to build a state, and who does not lead the country into internal conflict. "We are not with the resistance axis nor with the opposition. We believe we can reach a consensus with the resistance axis, which will be incomplete if not accepted by the opposition, and vice versa."
Weakened by Israel after a war lasting one year and two months that began on Oct. 8, 2023, from the opening of a support front in Gaza, Hezbollah remains essential in the choice of the future head of state.
Asked to choose between three candidates, the leader of the Lebanese Forces Samir Geagea, the head of the army Joseph Aoun – considered the favorite – and the head of the Marada Party, Sleiman Frangieh, who was Hezbollah's candidate and close to the ousted former Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, Bassil acknowledged that the leader of the Lebanese Forces was the one who enjoyed the greatest Christian popular representation.
"We know that Samir Geagea is the one who possesses popular legitimacy. We want a president who creates solutions and unites the Lebanese. If Geagea is capable of doing so, it would not bother us," he said.
"There will be significant pressures and external interventions to overturn the situation and impose new equations," Bassil stated, expressing "concern about a major security event that would derail Jan. 9." He warned that "anything that risks being imposed will not bring a solution but will aggravate the problem for Lebanon."
"Many things will happen before the [presidential] deadline. Scenarios and surprises could occur," the FPM leader said, who promised to work towards consensus.
However, he opposed using the Jan. 9 session to undermine some candidates or eliminate others.
"We want a session to elect a president even if he is not our first choice because the future holds regional and international developments potentially larger than Lebanon's ability to resist. Hence our hope to reach an internal agreement that would shield Lebanon from the region's crises," he stated, hoping for "awareness" among the political class in the first week of the new year for the election of a president.
"If Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri adheres to his announcement of keeping the session open, it will ultimately lead to the election of a head of state," he said.
Role of Saudi Arabia
Finally, discussing the regional role of Saudi Arabia, Bassil expressed "support for an active role of Saudi Arabia in Lebanon and the region and the return of Saudi policy to Lebanon in a balanced and inclusive manner for all Lebanese."
"However, I oppose any country, whoever it is, having the presidential passcode, as it belongs to the Lebanese and the parliamentarians," he stated, acknowledging that Riyadh is "in favor of a consensus, reformist and sovereign Christian president, who will restore confidence to participate in Lebanon's renaissance and future."
A few days before the presidential election, the Saudi foreign minister, Faisal bin Farhan, is expected in Beirut in early January, a first since 2015, following the deterioration of relations between Beirut and Riyadh linked to Hezbollah's arsenal.