During an interview on LBCI, head of the Free Patriotic Movement and member of Parliament, Gebran Bassil, reiterated his attacks against Army Commander general Joseph Aoun. He mainly criticized what he called “his anti-constitutional behavior” but said that “the Qataris are requesting a solution (for the presidential deadlock) and the name Joseph Aoun is one of the proposed names” to the presidency. “I am not against him, but I do not see that the reform project is applicable to him, and I will not allow the Free Patriotic Movement to be involved in a project doomed to fail,” said the one who was considered the local strongman of a regime which undertook nothing in terms of reforms.
According to Bassil, “none of the three parties, whether the Moumanaa, the opposition, or our team, can bring a president on their own, and since we do not have the luxury of time, we must resort to consensus.”
He said, “We could have secured 65 votes for Jihad Azour”, the candidate of the opposition. “However, the problem was that there was no communication among those who supported Baroud (Former Minister of Interior Ziad Baroud). If there had been, we could have secured the 65 votes.”
Bassil said that “Hezbollah’s candidate (Leader of Marada movement Suleiman Frangieh) is a disruption of balance because he does not represent the balance in power”.
Bassil considers that “the vacuum today is due to the constitution and Lebanon’s composition”. “In the absence of an external sponsor, we need an internal consensus”, he stressed.
He emphasized that “the current Christian consensus is just the beginning”.
