On Wednesday, Kataeb Party Chief Samy Gemayel emphasized that the President of the Republic should represent all Lebanese citizens and that his party would “refuse to allow the President to be controlled by Hezbollah.”
Gemayel explained that a temporary alliance with the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) would be based on their shared rejection of Hezbollah’s candidate, Sleiman Frangieh, and expressed hope that it would eventually develop into a strategic alliance similar to the one in 2005.
In an interview with “Hala London,” he confirmed that several acceptable candidates had been proposed, and their proposal itself would transform the presidential election into a “democratic process” where “the most qualified person would win.” He further clarified that the issue with Frangieh was not “personal,” instead, their opposition stemmed from the fact that he was a “challenging candidate of Hezbollah,” a party that had paralyzed the country for six months to support his election.
“In the past, Hezbollah was able to impose a president,” stated Gemayel, “but today, it is no longer the case. The use of any undemocratic methods will be turned against them.”
Gemayel explained that Lebanese citizens were suffering from a country divided into two entities: the Hezbollah-led state with its institutions, army, external relations, economy, and private funding, and the Lebanese state.
Furthermore, he considered it necessary for the Hezbollah-led state to “accept the authority of Lebanese internal decisions and view itself as part of the Lebanese state.” Otherwise, the only viable option between these two entities would be their separation.
