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The Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) led by Gebran Bassil is reportedly seeking to improve relations with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, but the question of a rapprochement between the two adversaries was utterly denied by the Speaker’s circle.
Nonetheless, a new dynamic in relations between the FPM and Berri’s Amal Movement was ushered in through MP Ghassan Atallah, a member of the FPM’s Strong Lebanon Bloc whose repeated discussions with Berri were lately aimed at finding common ground in crucial dossiers in need of national consensus.
Tensions and mutual denigration have long marked relations between the two parties. The affront was exacerbated by the leak of a video in which Bassil described Berri as a “thug.” This led to several incidents, the most serious being an organized “raid” by Amal partisans on the neighborhood of al-Hadath, then a stronghold of the Aounist movement.
The FPM’s rapprochement efforts towards Berri coincided with its waning relations with Hezbollah, Amal’s political partner and a former ally of the FPM with whom it had signed the so-called “historic” Mar Mikhail understanding in 2006. Relations between Hezbollah and the FPM were seriously strained over the presidential election and the party’s military activities in South Lebanon in so-called “support” of Gaza, reaching the point of “separation” but not a “final divorce,” according to the FPM.
Sources close to Berri were “surprised” by allegations of a rapprochement with the FPM, triggered by MP Atallah’s recurring visits. “As a parliamentarian and member of a bloc, MP Atallah has matters to discuss with the Speaker like any other legislator. It’s normal for the Speaker to receive him,” the sources told This Is Beirut.
They denied that the discussions with Atallah were meant to pave the way for a rapprochement with the FPM, stressing that “this is not the case at all.”
For his part, Atallah pointed out that the FPM is seeking to defuse tensions, fearing that “if things escalate further, polarization and division will become even deeper, and we won’t be able to shield the country from significant problems.”
He said the FPM requires clarifications about the “consultations or dialogue sessions” that were proposed by Berri to facilitate the presidential election.
“We need to understand the format of this meeting (dialogue), its location, duration, type of attendance and what will happen should it have a positive or negative outcome,” he added.
The FPM MP pointed out that the “consultation or dialogue” is between the parliamentary blocs that are concerned in electing a president and “has nothing to do with the defense strategy or creating a new system.”
On a more positive note, Atallah described the discussions as “80% positive,” stressing, however, that “we haven’t reached the end yet and we are still debating.”
“The goal post-dialogue is to proceed to sessions to actually elect a president, and there are (good) intentions on both sides,” he added, denying that the name of a potential third presidential candidate was raised.
