On Tuesday, the leader of the Free Patriotic Movement, Gebran Bassil, denied rumors of a deal with the Speaker of Parliament, Nabih Berri. According to some reports, Berri’s Amal movement had asked engineers among its supporters to vote for the FPM candidate for president of the Order of Engineers, Fadi Hanna, in exchange for a vote by Bassil’s parliamentary bloc in favor of extending the terms of office of municipal councils and Mokhtars. Fadi Hanna was elected President of the Order of Engineers on Sunday.
At the meeting of the Strong Lebanon bloc, Bassil announced that he would not take a position on the municipal elections until he met with caretaker Minister of Interior Bassam Mawlawi “to ensure that his department is ready” for the poll, scheduled for May, adding that if it turns out that the ministry can conduct municipal elections, his bloc will not vote for the extension of the term of office of municipal councils. “The FPM is not in favor of a vacuum,” added the MP for Batroun, whose bloc had nevertheless voted to postpone municipal elections just a year ago.
Bassil also said one thing and its opposite when referring to the conflagration on the southern front. He reiterated his current position on the war between Hezbollah and Israel, recognizing “Lebanon’s right to defend itself and support Hezbollah in the event of Israeli aggression,” adding that “solidarity with the Palestinians is a duty.” However, he opposed the unity of fronts advocated by the pro-Iranian group “when the Syrian and Iraqi fronts are inactive.” Bassil also called on the Lebanese government and the international community to give further momentum to achieve a ceasefire in South Lebanon, independently of Gaza.
