The newspaper "Nidaa al-Watan" reported: Amid the depths of the crisis and its intertwined mazes in various living, economic, financial, and health directions, the Lebanese continue their "free fall" into the abyss, slipping faster and faster to the bottom, passing through their daily lives filled with tragic scenes that revolve in empty circles and slogans devoid of any serious attempts to halt the collapse, against the backdrop of the continued dominance of the patchwork mentality among those in power and the government. This has left people trapped in a futile cycle of "going around in circles," reminding citizens that they remain in the first square of the crisis, as seen in recent hours with the return of long lines of cars at gas station entrances.
From the suffering of the Lebanese, the head of the "Progressive Socialist Party," Walid Jumblatt, begins his conversation with "Nidaa al-Watan," warning that things will remain stagnant "whether it is about gasoline or not" as long as real and structural reform is absent. Therefore, it is essential for the youth not to lose their voice and hope in their ability to change "because there are new faces that might be able to bring change and propose new solutions and ideas, regardless of the majority or the minority." He adds, emphasizing the need to replace the "decayed ruling political team" by indicating that this requires a new electoral law because the current law is "not proportional but sectarian and the preferential vote in it makes the voter more sectarian."
Regarding the course of the electoral battle and its political and sovereign dimensions, he noted that there is "an operational order to marginalize Walid Jumblatt... what can I do?" He stated that while our title is steadfastness in the battle, the larger title for the elections should revolve around sovereignty because "nothing works without sovereignty," and all we can do now is work within the permissible margins, nothing more.
In the depth of the electoral scene and its backgrounds, Jumblatt affirms that "Hezbollah" wants to "impose itself on the entire country and across various arenas and sects; consequently, whenever it can achieve gains on the Druze arena, "it will not hold back," because the resistance axis aims to encircle us and there is "an operational order" to marginalize me, and apparently, Hezbollah is participating in its implementation. He added: "If you want to know the fate of the country, ask Iran if it wants to maintain the Lebanese entity that has been around for 100 years. Even during the 'Mutasarrifate' period under Ottoman control, Lebanon was based on diversity and cultural development; likewise, during Syrian rule, the situation was simpler as it controlled the key military and security joints but did not abolish the country. However, today with Iran, we no longer understand 'what it wants,' and this brings us back to the assertion that nothing works and nothing will change in Lebanon without sovereignty."
Jumblatt pointed out that "the theory that bet on the economic collapse leading to the downfall of 'Hezbollah' has proven to be a wrong assumption; on the contrary, the 'party' has benefited from the downfall of the economic system more than it has been harmed by it." He asked: "What remains today of President Emmanuel Macron's initiative? What remains is, in principle, the possibility of reform to reach an agreement with the International Monetary Fund, and reform starts with electricity...! And 'Gebran Bassil is everywhere,' as he blackmails 'Hezbollah,' and God helps us with how much this alliance has cost us and will continue to cost us politically and economically." He affirmed that Lebanon's historical importance lay in its port, which has vanished today, and we now export the "paralyzed third" to Iraq, confirming that "the similarity in political events between Beirut and Baghdad is due to the presence of a single hand controlling both countries." He reminded that Iranian officials themselves boast about their control over Arab capitals from Beirut to Baghdad and Sana'a.
Regarding the electoral landscape, Jumblatt is clearly treating the upcoming elections as scheduled for May, while also emphasizing the "problem on the Sunni arena" after President Saad Hariri left it without leadership, ruling out that any Sunni figure could fill the void left by Hariri. He added: "We lost a significant ally among the Sunnis after a large alliance that lasted about 17 years." However, the leader from Mukhtara does not express fear of the elections being postponed despite all the headlines suggesting deliberate attempts to fabricate technical and financial excuses to delay the scheduled electoral process on May 15.
As for delimitation and other files, Jumblatt reiterated the saying: "Gebran is everywhere," whether in determining the fate of the presidential elections or in the file of maritime border demarcation with Israel, pointing out that they "competed with President Nabih Berri" in this file and sarcastically added: "In my opinion, the Lebanese border line should start from 'Zira Island' in Sidon, from there, we dive into modern technologies and cut through the seas 'horizontally' towards the bordering oil fields, as occurred during the demarcation of the Shebaa Farms when Colonel (Ameen) Htayt gifted us the Valley of Honey, today we have brought Colonel (Bassem) Yassine to the demarcation of our borders at the outskirts of Akka."
Jumblatt addressed the consequences of the scene of Lebanese misery, confirming that political aid in areas is no longer sufficient, and the demand is to "improve citizens' purchasing power and resolve who bears the losses? Because it is unacceptable to burden depositors with them; rather, there are available solutions through which we can create a sovereign fund and invest or lease state property. However, the problem lies in the special circles of major advisors who work to protect the banks," he added. "Macron had a name for a new central bank governor for Lebanon, but they sabotaged it, and things have merely become retaliation against Riad Salameh. Is it logical what Judge Ghada Aoun is doing, who has become similar to Iraq’s 'Al-Mahdawi'? The same people who yesterday put the law for the independence of the judiciary 'on the shelf' in the parliament," and he did not miss to point out the approach of patronage that revived "Bisri Dam" by hinting at the contracting company implementing the project owned by Dani Khoury, which is responsible for building the "Free Patriotic Movement" headquarters on the archaeological hill in Nahr al-Kalb, responding to a question about the reasons behind the council of ministers’ submission to the request to revive the "dam" project with the phrase: "Ask Najib" (Mikati).
