Speaker Nabih Berri has not called for a session to elect a president yet, despite the start of the constitutional period, and there are currently no agreements among the parties on a specific candidate to call for a session. There is a significant division and three main directions: the first talks about a candidate aligned with the March 8 Alliance, similar to Michel Aoun's choice in 2016; the second seeks a candidate to confront the March 8 Alliance and Hezbollah; while the third direction focuses on relying on a moderate figure acceptable to all, who does not pose a challenge to anyone. There is currently no consensus on a single direction.
On the government front, it seems closed for now. What Speaker Nabih Berri revealed a couple of days ago about a "bad" meeting between Presidents Michel Aoun and Najib Mikati, and the latter's failure to visit Baabda again or present new proposals, suggests that there is no government in sight, especially since political discussions do not address this issue at all. Mikati's talk about the possibility of the caretaker government assuming powers after Aoun's term ends confirms this direction: no government in the foreseeable future. However, the escalation from Gibran Bassil, head of the Strong Lebanon Bloc, asserting that the resigned government is illegitimate and that the "movement" will not recognize it in the case of a vacuum, along with his threats to take to the streets, is expected to reignite the formation process in the remaining time of the term.
