Leader of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) Gebran Bassil is going out of his way to prevent the extension of Army Commander Gen. Joseph Aoun’s mandate, which expires in January.
According to Wednesday’s issue of Nidaa Al-Watan newspaper, Bassil sent a clear message to Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, through Defense Minister Maurice Sleem, informing him that the FPM is ready to return to the Council of Ministers and turn the page on “principled positions” that refuse to allow the Council of Ministers to take decisions in the absence of a president, including the appointment of a military council and a new commander-in-chief.
The offer, however, is contingent on Mikati’s commitment to appoint a new commander-in-chief for the army and a new military council. Three potential candidates for the army’s top leadership have been mentioned, namely Eli Akel, Maroun Kobiati and Tony Kahwaji.
Since the end of his father-in-law’s presidential mandate in October 2022, Bassil, unable to get himself elected, has been trying to establish himself as the essential pawn in the election of Michel Aoun’s successor. Bassil is also openly opposed to Joseph Aoun’s reappointment as head of the troops, with the sole aim of blocking his path to Baabda.
Bassil’s decision follows his meeting with Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai, during which he expressed disapproval of Rai’s wishes to extend Joseph Aoun’s term. In his Sunday sermon, Rai stressed that the extension of Joseph Aoun’s mandate was necessary to “preserve stability in Lebanon,” adding that “it is not in the government’s interest to make changes at the head of the army.”
When Mikati sought clarification on the Christian consensus regarding the army commander and the military council, the answer was that the FPM’s cover was sufficient since it would necessarily be accepted by Hezbollah and its ally, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.
Sleem is said to have justified Bassil’s move by the need to monitor the situation in the region, notably the war in Gaza. Bassil and the so-called Hezbollah-led resistance group have taken the current regional dynamics as an opportunity to stage a coup d’état, notably a significant change within the army, to align its leadership with the political objectives of the “resistance.”
Bassil’s main motive is, of course, to distance Joseph Aoun from the army leadership and reduce his chances of becoming President of the Republic.
Some observers believe, according to Nidaa Al-Watan, that if Bassil’s desires, which Mikati opposes, were to materialize, they could jeopardize the financial and moral support that the Lebanese army receives from Washington and Gulf countries. Additionally, they could erode the trust of a significant portion of the Lebanese population in the army, which is widely regarded as a unifying institution representing all Lebanese and fostering social cohesion.
