Attention is focused on the new parliamentary session on Tuesday, which is the day for electing the Speaker of the Parliament, the Deputy Speaker, and the Parliament's Office. While political sources believe that the scheduling of the session came after a settlement reached by Hezbollah with its ally, National Liberal Party leader Jibran Bassil, involving a vote for Berri in exchange for Berri's support for MP Elias Abu Saab as Deputy Speaker, media sources see that Berri set the session in adherence to the 15-day timeframe and feels assured about his numbers, thus not needing a settlement with Bassil or anyone else.
So far, the battle for the Deputy Speakership is limited to the Lebanese Forces through their candidate Ghassan Hasbani and the National Liberal Party with their candidate Elias Abu Saab. While some information suggests that Bassil wants to win this position, he will not trade the vote for "Berri" solely for the Deputy Speaker role but is also negotiating regarding the Parliament's office, committees, the next government, appointments, and the Ministry of Energy in any upcoming government. In this context, Berri met yesterday with MP Abu Saad for an hour.
Tuesday's parliamentary session is the first real test for the balances in the new parliament, the distribution of power within it, and monitoring the relationship between the opposition parties, traditional parties, and reformist forces. Therefore, the direction of the new majority, which has slipped from Hezbollah's control, is now uncertain as to its current state.
