Parliament to convene after Berri's call for dialogue rejected

Before it was even born, dialogue died in infancy.

As expected, Thursday's session will be the tenth dedicated to electing a new president after the Lebanese Forces rejected Speaker Nabih Berri's call for dialogue, according to a statement released by the LF media department.

The LF's stance was that any dialogue amounts to a breach of a constitutional duty, which is the election of a president, and that the replacement of the president electing sessions in a parliament that is supposed to convene only to elect a new president creates a risky constitutional precedent that the LF cautions against establishing.

The LF demanded that Speaker Berri withdraws his call for dialogue and return to the explicit texts of the constitution by inviting the parliament to hold open sessions that will not end except with the election of a new president.

The LF party reiterated, however, that it accepts the principle of dialogue when it is held at the right time.

The Free Patriotic Movement declined the invitation simultaneously as the Lebanese Forces, though it didn't state it explicitly. 

However, not welcoming the invitation was seen by observers as a rejection in itself, confirmed by the movement's leader Gebran Bassil's departure for Qatar.

The same observers added that Berri wouldn't make another attempt anytime soon after the second rejection of his efforts, particularly given that the parties who reject dialogue are the same—the Christian components.

The two parties claim that the refusal extends beyond dialogue and includes holding cabinet meetings and participation in parliament sessions. 

This means the Lebanese file will be disrupted in all its aspects, and all crises, particularly the presidential file, will be postponed until next year because Thursday's session will be the final one for this year, as announced by Speaker Berri in the previous session.

Could this refusal be due to reliance on foreign and Arab endeavors in light of what is being reported about a Qatari role being prepared and its aftermath will appear at the beginning of the New Year?