“I am the only master on board,” appears to be the message conveyed by Gebran Bassil, the leader of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) and Batroun MP, to the “rebels” within the party — and there are quite a few of them…
Bassil has made no secret about his irritation at the positions taken by certain MPs within his party regarding crucial issues at the center of the national debate. The FPM leader does not appreciate the fact that these MPs took stances that contradict his own. Even more seriously, the “frondeurs,” or rebellious MPs, denounce Bassil’s procrastination on the presidential election and his delaying tactics, oscillating between siding with the sovereign camp on one hand and Hezbollah on the other, depending on the circumstances. They are therefore calling for meetings of FPM parliamentarians to draw up a clear roadmap for the next stage of the presidential election.
However, Bassil does not seem to want to extend a hand to the protesters. He reportedly intends to use his authority within the party in order to impose sanctions on rebel MPs who did not follow his voting instructions in the last parliamentary session for electing a President of the Republic. The FPM leader is apparently determined to “crack down” on the “rebels” despite the opposition of his father-in-law and party founder, former President Michel Aoun. The latter rejects the idea of sanctioning the rebel parliamentarians, warning against the repercussions of such a move.
