Berri regards Aoun as a strategic necessity… however

As-Safir daily reported that relations between Speaker Nabih Berri and the Head of the Change and Reform bloc MP Michel Aoun are strained. According to the local newspaper, ever since Aoun returned to Lebanon, relations between the speaker and the Free Patriotic Movement leader saw a lot of ups and downs.

The daily added that lately these relations have undergone numerous trials; the most delicate one must have been the issue of wage adjustment. Ain Al Tineh and Rabieh have clearly different approaches regarding this subject. In fact, Berri considers that by refraining from signing the wage decree issued by the cabinet, Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas is violating the constitution, which will bear heavy repercussions on the cabinet’s work. Aoun, on the other hand, says that by refraining from signing the decree, Nahhas is protecting the constitution and laws and does not want his record to be tainted since he speaks in the name of reforms.

The newspaper added that until now the efforts of Hezbollah, mutual ally of both parties, have contributed to keeping these differences in check, adding that both sides fully realize that any dispute should remain within certain limits.

“This political cohabitation is a strategic necessity imposed by the current majority’s higher interest, regardless of the way both parties feel about each other. These interests mean that compromises and sacrifices have to be made when the moment of truth arrives”, the newspaper reported.

According to As-Safir, Berri tells his visitors that he is dealing with Aoun “as a Christian and national necessity to strengthen the resistance and relations with Syria”, therefore he is trying to be the bigger person and rise above all disputes because the priority is to promote readiness in the face of original threats and avoid wasting our energy on petty disputes.