The movement regarding the presidential file has not stopped. Following the UNESCO conference on the 33rd anniversary of the "Taif Agreement," called by the Saudi ambassador to Lebanon, Walid Bukhari, the visit of the head of the Progressive Socialist Party, Walid Jumblatt, to Ain al-Tineh emerged, with the key question being "Who will be the President of Lebanon?" This visit is not surprising given the historical relationship between the two men, but it follows Jumblatt's stance at UNESCO, where he did not support former minister Suleiman Franjieh, while Speaker Nabih Berri and the "Development and Liberation" bloc declared through political aide Ali Hassan Khalil that Franjieh is the closest candidate.
Is Berri trying to pave the way for Franjieh starting from Al-Mukhtara? MP Akram Shehayyeb asserts that "the real candidate of the 'Progressive' party is MP Michel Moawad until further notice," stating in an interview with MTV: "We seek to accumulate votes for him in the session on Thursday and all subsequent sessions, and when we fail to secure enough votes for him, we will then look with Moawad for another candidate." He added, "We are well aware of Hezbollah's right to veto, and among the resistance team, there is one leader for the presidential election sessions, unlike the multiple opinions within the sovereign team, and this requires dialogue and communication to bring Lebanon to safety in an Arab vessel and not another."
Historically, the martyr MP Kamal Jumblatt's vote brought Suleiman Franjieh the grandfather to the presidency. In 2016, Walid Jumblatt supported Franjieh's candidacy, which received support from both Berri and former Prime Minister Saad Hariri at that time. Recently, Franjieh's notable presence at the "Taif" conference and his sitting in the front row conveyed a message to others, as he previously announced through MTV that there is no American veto against him, nor even a French one, and that there is no problem with the Saudis, affirming his commitment to the Taif Agreement. That day, Franjieh promoted the idea that he is not Hezbollah's candidate and that he would be a unifying and inclusive president for the country. He revealed that he did not receive a response from Jumblatt regarding his support or lack thereof.
So, is Berri attempting to pass what he failed to achieve through the dialogue table, starting with Jumblatt who insists on the necessity of opening doors to reach a consensus about the president, and trying to rekindle support for Franjieh? Shehayyeb emphasizes that no new candidate name was proposed during the meeting, except for Moawad, saying: "It is from our menu, and we are choosing from it." He added: "What we inferred from Berri is that he does not want a president who poses a challenge to anyone, and for us, Michel Moawad is not a challenging president, and this highlights the importance of dialogue and moving out of closed rooms."
Thus, Jumblatt remains committed to Moawad until further notice, and this notice has not yet matured internally or externally. The name that may gain Christian and Islamic backing is still in the background, destined to be imposed by political, economic, social, and security conditions.
