As the quintuple meeting in Paris approaches next Monday, the country is not expected to witness any presidential developments following the activity that took place in the past two weeks along the lines of Clemenceau and Ain al-Tineh. A sense of anticipation prevails until the conclusion of the Arab-Western meeting regarding Lebanon, to assess its results and recommendations, which will continue until the political parties decide their positions on the recent presidential movements surrounding the theme of a "centrist president."
The key lies with Hezbollah and its allies. Opposition parties implicitly agree to proceed with new names that possess qualities of sovereignty and reform, which are not provocative to the other party, based on their conviction that "one team alone cannot elect a president." From this principle, Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt has initiated his movement and proposed three names, which, if approved by the Hezbollah and Amal duo, would mark a significant step towards Baabda, pending the vetting of names and agreement on one name between the duo and the opposition.
Until consensus is reached, it is not expected that the parliament will hold any electoral session, as Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri does not wish to repeat the scenario of 11 sessions. He is awaiting positive changes in the presidential data to build upon, and without change, any session would be futile.
Member of the “Development and Liberation” bloc, MP Mohammad Khawaja, noted that "Berri is monitoring the scene and is working through his communications with political forces and ongoing meetings in Ain al-Tineh to bring about this positive change that leads to the election of a president, and the key to calls for electoral sessions remains in his hands."
However, Khawaja touched on an important point regarding "urgent legislation," revealing in an interview with Al-Anbaa electronic newspaper that "there are legislative sessions expected to be held in the parliament to legislate a number of essential and life-related laws, such as municipal elections, judicial independence, and other matters that cannot be postponed. Berri will call for these sessions once the materials are complete."
On another note, reports about the Ministry of Health possibly moving to lift subsidies on all cancer and autoimmune disease medications have raised concerns among citizens, implying a death knell for patients who cannot afford exorbitant medication prices. However, sources from the Ministry of Health denied these reports, noting that "subsidies have been lifted on some cancer medications that are replaced by less expensive generics, thus redirecting support towards generic drugs, aiming to reduce the cost of importing medications."
The sources confirmed continued availability of generic medications and revealed through Al-Anbaa that there is a monthly allocation of 35 million dollars designated for support, which will continue for 4 to 5 months, so there is no cause for alarm.
Thus, a state of anticipation prevails, awaiting national, non-factional positions from the parties involved in the presidential file, particularly as the nation can no longer endure further vacancy and deterioration affecting its sectors daily.
