The caretaker Prime Minister of Lebanon, Najib Mikati, has escalated his challenge to the Free Patriotic Movement, issuing a call for a government session tomorrow despite the movement’s refusal to participate, citing the non-transfer of presidential powers to a caretaker government. Mikati only took this step after coordinating with House Speaker Nabih Berri and, implicitly, with Hezbollah, which apparently provided the cover for this session, with its ministers participating as a message of anger directed at Gebran Bassil, who has not aligned with the party on his presidential choices. Mikati openly supports Sleiman Frangieh for the presidency and wanted to hold this session just a few days before his visit to Saudi Arabia for the Arab-Chinese summit, aiming to bolster his political stance by presenting himself as confronting Bassil and countering his influence, hoping that this will help him retain his chances of returning to the premiership. This approach satisfies Hezbollah by supporting its presidential candidate while also signaling to the Saudis that he is the only one confronting Michel Aoun and Gebran Bassil without offering them concessions.
Mikati has been working to create conditions for convening the session for some time; however, Hezbollah prefers to postpone it as long as the Free Patriotic Movement opposes it. The party has failed to persuade Bassil to participate on the basis of "necessity permits the forbidden," believing that holding the session would imply acquiescing to the party's desires in governmental matters, which he is unwilling to submit to Frangieh. The notable clarity in this battle was also reflected in Mikati's response when asked if his call is based on support and cover from the Shiite duo and specifically Hezbollah, to which he replied: "Those who say this know that the support is to facilitate matters for the people and what concerns the citizen's health. And those who make this accusation should remember how much they flaunted their muscles when the Shiite duo supported them."
Monday's session will test the positions of all forces, while the Free Patriotic Movement considers escalating and obstructing based on attempts to sway Hezbollah and raising a Christian opposition ceiling against the session, in addition to contemplating the possibility of mobilizing the streets and conducting a protest against it. In contrast, Hezbollah conveys a fundamental message to Bassil that it is no longer possible to indulge him on an open account without him undertaking political steps that would meet the party's needs.
