No presidential election before Gaza truce talks clear

A senior political source revealed to Al-Anbaa Kuwait that the Secretary of State of the Vatican, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, addressed the Speaker of Parliament, Nabih Berri, during his visit to the second presidency headquarters in Ain El-Tineh, saying: “Pope Francis hopes to elect a president for the republic as soon as possible.”

This statement came after Parolin asked President Berri: “Is there any intention to amend the system, and consequently change the Christian president?”

Parolin’s question came after the atmosphere conveyed by the French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian, which indicated that the Speaker of Parliament had reassured him about the safety of the situation in the country, and that matters were being managed between him and the caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, so the French envoy concluded that there was a possibility of reducing the enthusiasm for electing a president for the republic.

In the same context, and in parallel with Speaker Berri’s assurances that there is absolutely no desire to amend the system (the Lebanese constitution), Hezbollah’s Deputy Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem confirmed earlier last week that “not a single letter in the Taif Agreement will be changed.”

Reassurances from the “Shiite duo” do not obscure its view of the scale of partnership with other components in the Lebanese structure. A partnership in which the “party,” according to the senior political source, does not accept discussion of sensitive issues, such as hostility to Israel and the front supporting Gaza.

In parallel, an informed political source described to Al-Anbaa the launch of the opposition initiative to elect a president for the republic as “like other initiatives that preceded it.”
He stressed that “there will be no election of a president before the picture of the ceasefire negotiations in Gaza and its impact on Lebanon becomes clear, and then a serious dialogue is held under international and Arab sponsorship in Lebanon or in any of the countries of the Quintet Committee, otherwise the situation in Lebanon will remain as it is between gossip and going around in circles.”

The source pointed out that “the welcome of the five-member committee to any initiative comes within the framework of encouraging dialogue and consultation in the hope that any tangible progress will be achieved.”

He considered that “the parliamentary division between supporters and opponents of initiatives and efforts makes it lose seriousness and credibility in dealing with public affairs.”