The stance of Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, who supports the dialogue called for by Speaker Nabih Berri to reach a consensus conducive to electing a president for the republic, has not altered the positions of the Christian parties that refuse to respond to this call. Al-Rahi's position, expressed in his Sunday sermon, raises a question mark, especially since he encouraged lawmakers to engage in dialogue "without preconditions and the imposition of ideas and projects," while the opposing Christian parties had previously declared their absolute rejection of it to prevent any establishment of norms contrary to the constitution.
According to "Asharq Al-Awsat," Patriarch al-Rahi's position does not seem likely to change anything in the approach of the Christian parties opposed to it and accepting any step before the presidential election. This sentiment is echoed by both the "Lebanese Forces" party and the "Kataeb Party," while the "Free Patriotic Movement" has repeatedly stated that it does not oppose dialogue. Hours after the patriarch's remarks, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea launched an attack on the "resistance team" (Hezbollah and its allies) and their call for dialogue, stating: "They invite you to dialogue to suffocate you, kill you, and force you to do what they want."
For his part, Kataeb leader MP Sami Gemayel asked, "Am I coming to the dialogue like a sheep going to slaughter?" Gemayel noted the danger of electing the "resistance team's" candidate, "Maronite Movement" leader Sleiman Frangieh, stating, "They may secure the quorum for him through a specific deal, and then Berri decides to open the parliament." He stated, "As long as there is an armed militia, the problem will persist. If they bring their president, he will be a puppet, and if we bring our president, they will assassinate him."
Sources from the Kataeb party reaffirm their previous refusal of any preconditions to open parliament and to hold consecutive sessions to elect a president, emphasizing that priority must always be given to completing the constitutional requirement. Similarly, sources from the Lebanese Forces reject the establishment of new norms, reiterating that the priority remains the elections. They stated to "Asharq Al-Awsat": "The patriarch considers all viewpoints and does not adopt a single perspective; additionally, he linked completing the requirement to the necessity of applying the constitution," adding, "Thus, as far as we are concerned, we are attached to our position from this angle, meaning we cannot proceed with any step that enshrines new norms that contravene the constitution, alongside other reasons related to the absence of trust and the backgrounds of the maneuverers, and that the dialogue table has not achieved anything historically."
The sources stress that there are "serious fears that if the dialogue precedes the presidential elections, it means that before every requirement, we must go to dialogue, which means we paralyze the role of parliament, hinder the balance of power within the council, and impose a new reality by transforming the council into a ratifier of what is reached at the dialogue table." While they acknowledge the possibility of discussing "the potential for dialogue during the electoral rounds," they affirm: "Our position is non-negotiable, and priority remains for the elections."
After MP Ghyath Yacoub from the Lebanese Forces expressed surprise at the patriarch's call for lawmakers to respond to the dialogue, his colleague in the bloc, former Deputy Prime Minister Ghassan Hasbani, argued that "the patriarch has laid down conditions for dialogue that are not met in Berri's invitation." Hasbani wrote on his X account: "Patriarch al-Rahi has set requirements for constructive dialogue (if it happens), as he stated, which unfortunately are not available in the recent invitation from the Speaker of Parliament, including coming to him without preconditions and the intent to impose their ideas and projects, disregarding others." He added, "This is not available amid the insistence on nominating Minister Frangieh and imposing other projects." He continued: "Secondly, adherence to the constitution and considering it the only path to be taken means that the council must convene immediately and elect a president; there is no constitutional alternative to this, which contradicts any discussion outside of it." Hence, Hasbani asked, "Will there be dialogue according to the specifications set by His Excellency, or will it be a meeting outside the constitution to impose projects and ideas without positive results?"
For its part, the "Lady of the Mountain Gathering" deemed any dialogue useless unless it includes representatives from the five-country group, followed by consecutive sessions to elect a president. In a statement following its regular meeting, it said: "There is no point in any internal dialogue to extract Lebanon from its presidential crisis unless it includes representatives from the five-country group concerned with Lebanon, alongside representatives of parliamentary blocs and parties, to achieve balance with Hezbollah, supported by Iran, and ensure adherence to resolutions, all in a single session, to be followed directly by consecutive rounds to elect a president, such that there would be one session for consecutive rounds, not multiple sessions as in the past, but rather followed directly by a second round and subsequently additional consecutive rounds until a president is elected per the provisions of the constitution."
