Member of "the Democratic Gathering" MP Bilal Abdullah commented on the statement made by Hezbollah's assistant secretary-general Hussein Khalil before Qatari envoy Abu Fahd bin Jassim Al Thani, who said, "the party's candidate is first, second, and third Suleiman Franjieh." In an interview with "Lebanon Al-Hurr," he said: "The Progressive Socialist Party was the first to call for dialogue. We initially spoke with Hezbollah and invited them to step away from the aura of a challenging candidate, and we still stand by our position." He added: "We believe that there is another team in Lebanon whose opinion must be respected, and it should be acknowledged that no one can impose a president in Lebanon." He questioned: "Can Lebanon bear the atmosphere of a challenging candidate? Even if this candidate arrives, how will we form a government?" He pointed out that "if a rapid rescue government with bold decisions is needed to preserve what remains of the country, it requires an atmosphere of national consensus."
He considered that "the economic and social rescue process in Lebanon calls for the elevation of the majority of political forces, as every team must step back. If we remain within high ceilings, we should ask: Are the parties waiting for an external signal, leaving Lebanon as a platform for messages from one axis to another and vice versa? Do we want to keep our arena as a battleground for others without any solution? Don’t we want to build the stature of the Lebanese state?" He emphasized that "it is time to return to our Lebanese nationalism," and said: "With all due respect to Qatar and all countries trying to help Lebanon, the more we raise the ceiling with them, the more we tell them to stop their initiative; therefore, the Lebanese must lower their expectations a little."
He viewed that "the dealing should largely be internal by lowering elevated ceilings, speaking of open calls to all parties, and that one team is required to initiate and say I have plan B, not just plan A, and I am ready to propose it when I negotiate with you, but this message has not been communicated. From the perspective of the team rejecting dialogue, if this message does not reach them, what will they negotiate about?" He concluded: "We must understand everyone’s concerns, and therefore they must understand the concerns of the country; our youth are facing emigration or starvation. Is this the tempo we want to work with?"
