After Speaker Nabih Berri exposed the secret visit of Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Gibran Bassil to him just before he left for Paris to attempt to negotiate a "presidential deal" independently from Hezbollah, Bassil hurried to deny that he visited "Ain Tineh" without the party's knowledge. Meanwhile, sources close to the "Movement" hinted at the existence of "a key wing within Hezbollah that does not see an interest in nominating the head of the Marada Movement, Sleiman Frangieh, for the presidency and is pushing for an agreement on another presidential candidate with Bassil, considering him the only one capable of ensuring Christian support for any candidate endorsed by the 'party,' which would not be possible if the insistence on nominating Frangieh continued."
At the same time, in a context of inflaming the "blaze" of presidential nominations among the March 8 coalition, well-informed circles expect that Bassil's "next step" after leaking a voice recording from Paris—in which he intentionally aims to "burn" Frangieh's nomination—may involve preparing "a similar scenario in its presidential objectives," potentially through "a new leak" targeting this time Army Commander General Joseph Aoun. This stems from intentions aimed at questioning his performance at the head of the military institution by recalling his previous positions during the October 17 Revolution, accusing him of being involved in a scheme to undermine the Aounian era through his laxity in controlling the street and his refusal to confront the movements executed by ground groups opposing the era and its movement. This is culminating in what has recently been explicitly voiced by "Mirna Chalouhi's" circles regarding direct accusations against the army commander of being involved in what they consider a "deliberate repression" of supporters of the Free Patriotic Movement in front of the "MTV" station following the altercation that occurred in the studio of the program "Sar al-Waqt" and its surroundings.
