The leader of the Free Patriotic Movement, Gebran Bassil, launched a scathing attack on those he described as having "dirty hands and hearts within the party" yesterday, Sunday, marking the first public indication of escalating disagreements within one of the prominent Maronite parties in Lebanon. Bassil's remarks were met with a fierce response from former Free Patriotic Movement member Ziad Assouad, who strongly criticized Bassil through a series of tweets.
"Those with interests, oh innocent, oh transparent, oh clean, oh virtuous, why did you climb and extend your hand to the position? Did you forget your four-month sulk that forced the general to implement a party system in your favor, putting pressure and exploiting emotions to eliminate the real fighters? Later, you want soft hands, not rough ones, as if the rough ones fight and the soft ones are for the thieves who have become active members in financial struggle," he posted.
Bassil's comments followed the dismissal of the party leader and Vice President of the Parliament Elias Bou Saab, which generated widespread controversy within the party and heightened the divisions that have been plaguing it for some time. During the opening of a youth house in the region of Jezzine, south of Beirut, Bassil stated, "In the party, there are white hands and rough hands, and when someone soils their hands within the party, they become outside of it. We in the party do not recognize dirty hands, hearts, or morals."
Observers believe that Bassil's statements reflect the depth of the crisis within the Free Patriotic Movement, amid a rising wave of rejection to Bassil's policies regarding several internal issues and his tendency to monopolize opinions. They point out that Bassil aimed to send a warning message to opposing leaders and members, indicating that he would not hesitate to carry out a "purge campaign" within the party, a mindset that could increase the level of anger towards him and potentially lead to a wave of resignations and dismissals.
Former deputy Ziad Assouad also wrote on his platform X: "Gebran, you said about President Berri that he is a thug; he said about you that you meddled in the south in 2018. He surely knows you well, and you came out saying you don’t know him. If you were capable, you would have said yesterday this was our approach and our line, and we were as you told me in that betrayal meeting you held before the elections. It would be more honorable for you to boldly say that you are changing the party's position instead of blaming others, 'Barghout'."
