The President of the Lebanese Forces Party, Samir Jaja, stated: "If a majority of the opposition agrees on my name for the presidency, I am ready for it and to prepare my electoral program. We have started discussing several names with opposition MPs; I will not mention them now due to the necessities of the electoral battle. I have a grievance against some of the reformists because some of them have inherited ideas from the war days." He added: "We are in dire need of a 'new' president who will start a new path in the country and break the current practices, the latest of which was seen in the discussion of the 2022 budget. I affirm, my goal is not to make a president for the republic, and we must be humble even if we have the largest parliamentary bloc, as the goal is to bring a president to the republic."
During an interview on LBC’s "Twenty-Thirty" program, he said that "All of them means all of them" is the biggest mistake in Lebanon's history, noting that the ruling establishment over the last ten years consists of the Free Patriotic Movement, Hezbollah, Amal Movement, and their allies. Regarding the next president, Jaja added that it is certain that they will not speak with the Free Patriotic Movement, Hezbollah, or the Amal Movement because they are the ones who brought us to this point. However, there are 67 opposing MPs, so we must agree on a president who has the necessary qualities.
Jaja confirmed that the relationship with the Progressive Socialist Party is still intact and "there is no severance between us." He indicated that he was misunderstood from the very moment regarding the candidacy of Army Commander Joseph Aoun, stating that he literally said they would not oppose his candidacy for the presidency, but it was better to go for a political candidate.
Regarding the relationship with Hezbollah, Jaja stated: "There is no political communication between the Lebanese Forces Party and Hezbollah for many reasons, ranging from its ideology to its project. I doubt that it would agree to the specifications we set for the presidency. Theoretically, Hezbollah and ISIS are two sides of the same coin, but the difference is that ISIS wants to implement its project immediately and violently, while Hezbollah fought ISIS to protect Bashar al-Assad, and the Lebanese army and security forces are those who deterred ISIS from Lebanon."
He continued: “If I reach the presidency, I will tell the party that the state in previous years was weak, and Israel was in the south, but today there is a state that must be established." He questioned, "Can a state exist properly with an armed faction or party in it? We must tell Hezbollah this, as a single judge has said what needs to be said to Hezbollah to confound it, and that is what it is doing today."
On the subject of government formation, Jaja mentioned: "The existence of a government does not differ from its absence, especially if it is similar to the current government. The failure to form it so far is due to the demands of Gebran Bassil, which no one can bear, not even his allies. Bassil is the obstacle today because he wants the lion's share in the government formation and wants guarantees regarding appointments."
In response to a question about the possibility of a television debate with Bassil, he answered: "I do not accept a television interview with Gebran Bassil because the written text can be read from its title."
Jaja confirmed: "We have returned to being allies with the Kataeb Party, and what unites us is much greater than others, and now we have overcome the issues we went through in the past years, and the Lebanese Forces are with us." He mentioned that foreign countries are minimally interested in the Lebanese issue, questioning why they would care if there are no reforms or movement in the desired direction. He stated that Saudi Arabia would not cooperate with Lebanon if any president were to appear whom they do not trust from a certain political side, and this is what he conveyed to France and the United States.
Concerning the border demarcation, he said through LBC: "I see that the border demarcation file will be resolved soon and it has nothing to do with normalization with Israel. Hezbollah's talk is all deception, as this file is not new. When Hezbollah learned that the file was nearing completion, they began to object only to delay the matter." He added: "I stand behind the Lebanese government if it declares a confrontation after the failure of negotiations with the Israeli enemy; this decision belongs solely to the Lebanese government, and Hezbollah does not have the right to decide it alone."
Regarding the current regime, Jaja stated: "It is not ideal; it is a system with a minimum of clear flaws, but thinking about changing it will lead us into difficulties. Any idea about federalism or a non-sectarian system or anything else must be approved by a majority of the Lebanese groups." He continued: "The idea of federalism is 'not bad' if other Lebanese groups agree because our destiny is interconnected, and we must propose a federalism of regions as we currently live in a federalism of sects."
He asserted that the responsibility for the drowning of more than 100 people at sea lies with the absence of the state and the ruling system, and to begin a solution, we must initiate a rescue operation.
In the issue of bank incursions, Jaja stated: "I understand the depositors' outcry, but we cannot continue like this because this way eliminates the rights of other depositors. The responsibility today lies primarily with the state, as well as with the central bank and the banks." Regarding the dismissal of Riad Salameh, he added: "I am for the dismissal of the Governor of the Central Bank today within the context of public accountability, but within a clear plan. I am against dismissing him only to bring in someone worse."
