Speaker of the House Nabih Berri strongly launched an attack on the presidency and the Free Patriotic Movement team without naming them directly, through the issue of the Ministry of Energy. In his speech at the anniversary of Imam Musa al-Sadr's disappearance yesterday, he stated that Lebanon is not well and is going through the worst phase in its history, with some approaching it with a mentality of malice and spite. He asked: "Is there a country in the world with 'zero electricity' supply while the excuse is 'they wouldn’t let us'? Is it possible for Lebanon to be deprived of Egyptian and Jordanian gas due to the failure to form a regulatory authority in the Ministry of Energy, which has drained a third of the state’s finances, and the excuse is 'change the law instead of applying it'?"
He commented on the President's request—without naming him—to add six political ministers to the government formation, saying: "What are they? Shall we return to President Tammam Salam's government with 24 ministers, where during two years every minister became a president of the republic, and they want to take us back to those days, is it not enough what we are going through?" He criticized "tampering with the constitution or revolting against it, or seeking interpretations to suit this party or that, fulfilling the ambitions or desires of this or that," adding, "We remind those who attempt to outsmart by rolling back time to before Taif, that Lebanon is a democratic parliamentary republic, and the Parliament is the principal institution representing the people and the only one entitled to interpret the constitution and its provisions regarding the principle of power rotation. The responsibility of the Parliament and its Speaker also necessitates compliance with the deadlines set for electing a President of the Republic and working to complete this entitlement."
According to opposition political sources to "Al-Markazia," the arrows from Ain al-Tineh toward Baabda and Mar Mikhael, at this precise time, have their reasons and backgrounds. Likely, the rigidity of the presidency in governmental matters and its non-responsiveness to the formulation efforts undertaken by the Shiite duo constitute the main reason for the increased tension. It is noteworthy that his speech came about an hour after the fifth visit of Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati to the Baabda Palace, which confirmed the divergence in perspectives between the Serail and Baabda and the latter's insistence on its conditions. While Mikati visited Ain al-Tineh earlier this week and expressed openness to the conciliatory proposals made by Berri, Aoun's insistence on his demands, despite Mikati's flexibility, upset Berri, prompting him to raise the stakes against the presidency and direct heavy fire at it personally in his speech yesterday, rather than through sources.
According to sources, just as Berri began his relationship with "Aoun - the President" with tension and "no chemistry," as was evident during Aoun's election session (which was not attended by Berri's team) and throughout the years of the presidency, he ended it similarly with the same tension! It is worth noting that both sides managed to set this disagreement aside at major political junctures to safeguard their interests and the interests of the "axis," as they remained silent about each other's corruption and forgot it.
