The meeting that brought together opposition forces in the Lebanese Parliament, along with several MPs affiliated with the "Forces of Change" and representatives from the "Moderation" and "New Lebanon" blocs, aims to push the opposition towards centrist parliamentary groups that are not aligned with the resistance axis. This effort seeks to establish common ground regarding the necessary stance if renewed dialogue between "Hezbollah" and the President of the "Free Patriotic Movement" MP Gebran Bassil leads to Bassil supporting the nomination of former MP Sleiman Frangieh for the presidency. It also addresses the willingness to boycott the electoral session to prevent the required quorum for the session from being met, as well as the relevance of attending essential legislative sessions and how to manage the visit of former French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian to Beirut.
Sources from within the parliamentary bloc informed "Asharq Al-Awsat" that the meeting, which will be followed by another with the "Democratic Gathering" led by Taymour Jumblatt, was dedicated to exchanging views on the agenda points from a perspective of disagreement, with hopes of continuing the meetings to form a tripartite committee to follow up on the dialogue between "Hezbollah" and Bassil.
The parliamentary sources revealed that the opposition delegation emphasized the necessity for the anti-resistance axis forces to unify their position to obstruct the advancement of its presidential candidate. They stated that the "Moderation" bloc does not favor boycotting the electoral session, without endorsing Frangieh's nomination, as it seeks to resolve the presidential standoff.
A member of the "Moderation" bloc was quoted as saying that he and his colleagues advocate for reaching a consensus on a president who does not pose a challenge to any bloc. Meanwhile, members of the "New Lebanon" bloc (Naim Afram, Imad al-Hout, Nabil Badr, and Jamil Aboud) are leaning towards boycotting the session, but nothing is definitive at this time, as they desire to conduct a range of communications in preparation for their final decision.
Regarding participation in essential legislative sessions, the opposition maintains its stance of non-participation, arguing that convening such sessions reinforces the perception that they are pushing for the extension of the presidential vacancy rather than exerting pressure for the election of a president.
Conversely, the parliamentary majority from the "Moderation" and "New Lebanon" blocs supports the convening of essential legislative sessions, especially if intended to secure necessary provisions for the military institution and other security forces, amid complaints of shortages in their reserves.
Concerning the upcoming visit of Le Drian to Beirut and the responses to the questions he raised about the qualifications required for the future president and the priorities after their election, the parliamentary sources confirmed that the opposition insists on not answering these questions, as the quintet committee for Lebanon had previously defined these qualifications and the parliamentary blocs had initiated responses to that matter, making it unnecessary to reiterate them; the priority should be restricted to electing a president.
In this context, the sources quoted opposition MPs as saying that Paris has not acted neutrally, and Le Drian's mission lacks political coverage from the quintet committee, necessitating its inclusion for the desired balance, rather than allowing France to unilaterally pursue its initiative, which hit a dead end.
Furthermore, the MPs indicated that Paris had relied on softening the Iranian stance, but was surprised by Tehran's lack of cooperation, as noted by French President Emmanuel Macron, who accused Iran of interfering to delay the election. Thus, Iran, according to Arab diplomatic sources for "Asharq Al-Awsat," has no choice but to adopt a stringent position on the presidential file, linking it to developments in Syria and not wanting to relinquish it, and will be compelled to maintain the Lebanese card if the Syrian regime faces issues in restoring normalcy amid ongoing protests in various regions of Syria.
