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Former Lebanese Finance Minister Jihad Azour, who has joined the presidential race against Sleiman Frangieh, a candidate supported by Hezbollah and Amal, declared on Monday, June 12, that his candidacy is not intended to be a challenge to any party.
“I am not the descendant of a prestigious political family nor am I affiliated to any political party or a champion of a sect…. Jihad Azour does not defy anyone,” Azour said in his first public statement since he received the endorsement of the opposition camp, including leading Christian parties.
In his statement, Azour outlined the main points of his political program, which relies on “total independence from foreign interference, full national sovereignty and territorial integrity, restoring respect to the state and its institutions, abiding by the constitution and reinforcing the Taif national reconciliation agreement through its comprehensive implementation, because it is the best common ground and the genuine basis for fostering national coexistence.”
“I will also cooperate with all (parties) to rebuild Lebanon’s ties with its Arab entourage and the world,” Azour went on to say.
The Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund, who is currently on “temporary” leave, said that his candidature “is a call for unity aimed at breaking alignments and searching for common grounds to weather the crisis.”
“I belong to the school of dialogue and union,” Azour said in an implicit message to his opponents (Hezbollah and Amal), and added, “I am ready to engage in dialogue with all the political forces and components of the nation to achieve long-overdue national consensus.”
He stressed that his “only goal is to restore a prosperous Lebanon by implementing all the necessary reforms to offer the younger generations a future rather than despair, which has led to one of the most dangerous waves of migration the country has ever seen.”
The former finance minister underscored Lebanon’s complex and big economic problems, assuring, however, that “they can be treated.”
“During my long professional and human experience, I have learned that complicated issues neither resolve on their own nor through neglect. I have personally witnessed how countries can recover and develop when there is a combination of goodwill and well-thought-out strategies at play,” he said.
Azour also expressed hope that his candidature “would not be the lowest common denominator” among the different political forces, but “the highest common denominator among Lebanese men and women dreaming of a sovereign, free, independent and prosperous country that we all deserve.”
Calling on Lebanese men and women to support him in his quest to “restore Lebanon’s glory and ensure a prosperous future for all,” Azour hoped to serve as a “bridge to the future, to reconciliation and to guaranteeing coexistence based on cooperation and openness.”
