The head of the Free Patriotic Movement, MP Gibran Bassil, indicated in a speech delivered at a retreat organized by the Baabda district authority that "we have been subjected to sanctions due to our relationship with 'Hezbollah,' and we have endured this because we found it important to maintain the unity of Lebanon, even if it costs us our popular support, and we believed we should make sacrifices to preserve Lebanon's unity and achieve national partnership." He added: "However, when there are attacks against us concerning state-building and during Michel Aoun's six-year term, we cannot remain silent. After Aoun's presidency ends, the way we are treated in government and in the presidency, which is a center of national decision-making, is unacceptable. No one can deal with the Free Patriotic Movement as if it is not a partner."
He further stated: "We know how significant the Jbeil seat was in the 2022 elections, and we did not accept that someone would exploit a seat among twenty-seven to impose on the Shia component the presidency of the parliament. Today, they are choosing a seat among sixty-four to impose on the Christian component the presidency of the republic, which signifies a manner of dealing with us that we cannot accept." He emphasized that "we should not be 'rigid'; look at Saudi Arabia, for example, and how it has changed over the years with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Six years ago, we were afraid of petrodollars and funding terrorist movements, and now we await development and urban extension from him. Should we take the same stance towards the state?"
