The famous Ramadan iftar that gathered the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, with the leader of the Marada Movement, former Minister Sleiman Franjieh, and the head of the Free Patriotic Movement, MP Jibran Bassil, last April, had the presidential election scheduled for October as its main dish. The first turning point in the relationship between Bassil and Franjieh was observed during this iftar. At the time, it was said that a deal was made, suggesting that Franjieh "would be a guest" at the Baabda Palace for six years if the political calculations aligned favorably.
However, circumstances have changed, and there is no dish more desirable than the presidency amid prevailing factors, the foremost being Bassil's belief that all efforts to bring Franjieh to Baabda could be redirected to serve his own interests, despite the US sanctions he perceives as politically motivated. He confirmed this in a conversation with "Al-Manar" station on Friday night, justifying his lack of support for Franjieh's presidential bid by stating that there is a difference between a person with one deputy and another with twenty. This was described by a well-informed source as a message from Hezbollah to Franjieh through its media channel, indicating that they would not relinquish Bassil's opportunity to occupy the Baabda chair, thus attempting to cool Franjieh's turbo engines in order to play a new game in the presidential race.
Furthermore, the source noted that Bassil is activating communication channels with officials in Syria, in light of some Gulf and Western countries breaking the ice with President Bashar al-Assad's regime. Simultaneously, he is presenting his biography to several foreign institutions, with his recent European tour to Hungary and France being the latest example. The source emphasizes that these visits will continue to other countries.
Nevertheless, the most important question remains: who is Hezbollah's "politically concealed" candidate that is not yet announced, and could it be Bassil? There are indications that the party has prioritized supporting Bassil at the expense of its other allies to the extent that it led some of them to lose their seats, in order for him to have a significant bloc that would provide substantial Christian cover for his candidacy.
