Dialogue and consensus: Maronite Patriarchate and French envoy's roles amidst Lebanon's Presidential elections

After the 12th session to elect a president of the republic concluded, the Parliament Speaker, in his outreach to all parties, had a clear message: "Electing a president can only be achieved through consensus and by following the path of dialogue, and more dialogue, and even more dialogue," as he expressed.

Berri, who had hoped for a call from the Maronite Patriarchate to convene a dialogue that brings together all the stakeholders, reiterated his call after the session, emphasizing his openness to any dialogue that leads to a solution.

Will the Maronite Patriarchate work towards that?

Sources within the patriarchate told LBCI that the demand for a call to dialogue had been received. With the current focus on the annual synod of the Maronite Church, the issue will be studied once the synod concludes in order to make an appropriate decision regarding the call for dialogue.

In the meantime, sources from the Strong Lebanon Bloc affirmed that the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), which advocates for dialogue, would unquestionably participate if the invitation came from the Maronite Patriarchate.

Moreover, sources from the Lebanese Forces stated that the intersection formed around the candidacy of Jihad Azour between more than one party proved that bilateral dialogues could replace comprehensive dialogue if there is a genuine desire to reach a solution.

The Progressive Socialist Party, represented by the leader of the Democratic Gathering, MP Taymor Jumblatt, confirmed that the only solution to overcome the crisis is through dialogue.

While most parties are now convinced of the necessity of dialogue, it is notable that the opposition's statement did not address dialogue in any way.

The statement rejected imposing a candidate on others and, in contrast, invited everyone to converge on the nomination of Jihad Azour.

This is not the first time a call for dialogue has been made, but this time it comes just before the expected visit of French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian, tasked with following up on the Lebanese file.

Will the Lebanese people move towards convergence to resolve the presidential crisis and not miss the international opportunity represented by external initiatives for Lebanon?