On the day the Free Patriotic Movement and the Lebanese Forces sailed between 2015 and 2016 on the journey of Christian understanding, many did not believe in the possibility of a “miracle of convergence.” And it quotes a Western ambassador to Lebanon, after Maarab adopted General Michel Aoun’s candidacy for the presidency, as saying to one of the godfathers of reconciliation, “How did you do that?”
Today, some feel that the time for miracles has passed, and that yesterday’s circumstances are different from today’s challenges. Added to this is the loss of trust between the two main Christian components, until mountains and valleys of different approaches and diverging political calculations almost separate them. What makes asking the question about “what is convergence?” It is legitimate if the background is an interest rather than a strategy, linked to what each party can achieve, not what they can accomplish together at the Christian and national levels.
In the search for the fourteenth president of the republic, and in light of the ongoing efforts on the Maarab-Mirna Chalouhi line to agree on a name, there is the need to learn the Christian duo from the past and the mistakes that accompanied the post-understanding. With what this requires of conducting self-criticism to enable us to see the imbalance, so that interests do not once again take precedence over politics, and rapprochement is not seasonal at the time of elections, but rather turns into a continuous path, preserving the internal balance, enabling achievement, and forming a safety net for the next president to rule. different and makes a difference.
In this context, the search for the specifications required for the next stage appears urgent, on the basis of which the right person will be dropped. Especially since the specifications required by the Lebanese, as well as by the Americans, internationally and Saudi Arabia, have become clear in terms of the next president’s distance from corruption, his knowledge of reform files, and his ability to gather and communicate with everyone. In addition, he is the son of his environment, and enjoys a balanced Christian cover within the game of internal balances.
And in light of the announced movement of the Saudi ambassador in the past days, and the distant contacts from the media of influential Western ambassadors in the Lebanese scene, a few names are still circulating in the search for a vacancy in Baabda.
In the past hours, there has been much talk about the advancement of the name of the former minister, Jihad Azour, director of the Middle East region at the International Monetary Fund, on the line of communication between the movement, the forces and the “opposition”. He is the one who came to Lebanon a few days ago from Washington, after his brother paved the way for him.
The question raised in this context is what unites the Free Patriotic Movement and the former Minister of Finance between 2005 and 2008, and one of the aides of the former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, who visited Maarab to market his name?
While there is talk of an Arab and international movement towards Lebanon, the name of the army commander, General Joseph Aoun, appears in its scenes. He is the one who has been unanimously described as “human” who has neutralized the military establishment from the ongoing conflicts. However, his path to Baabda is obstructed by an obstacle set by the Shiite duo through Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and is based on the need to amend Article 49 of the constitution, which requires securing a two-thirds quorum. What is currently not easy in light of the declared position of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in this regard?
As for the third name, it is former minister Ziyad Baroud, who of course cannot be described as anything but a reformer. Rather, behind the scenes of the heads of blocs and some decision-making centers, questions are raised about his ability to rule and make decisions in light of the ramifications and challenges of the Lebanese arena, from money to the economy and all the way to Hezbollah.
As for the fourth name, he is Representative Ibrahim Kanaan, whose name Bkerke included on its list, but an obstacle is present before him that the head of the Free Patriotic Movement, Gebran Bassil, has put up until the moment. Noting that Kanaan enjoys familiarity with the financial-reform files from the political and technical angles, and he worked on parliamentary scrutiny of the Lebanese state’s finances for years, and he is respected internationally and in the Christian community, based on his role in achieving the Christian reconciliation in 2016, which ended the post-2014 vacuum. And it led to a president with a Christian-Lebanese mixture.
Based on the foregoing, the responsibility once again appears on the Christian forces to take the initiative and make a good choice to build the presidential eligibility, not to pass their interests or reject the candidate of the Shiite duo, Suleiman Franjieh only, and to keep pace with regional and international interest, its changes and requirements. Especially since the current stage seems crucial and sensitive, between restoring Lebanon to its former prosperous era, according to solid reform foundations, and remaining ailing, treated with painkillers that do not cure the disease and may kill the patient.
