Conditions and positions: Gebran Bassil's backtracking on dialogue puts Berri's initiative at risk

After the head of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), Gebran Bassil, welcomed Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri's call for dialogue and subsequently outlined his conditions, Bassil appears to have backtracked, undermining Berri's initiative, according to sources familiar with this initiative.

For Bassil, any dialogue must be confined within the boundaries of decision-making to ensure its chances of success.

According to sources, he believes that democracy has limits and the expression of opinions should be confined to the ballot box.

When Bassil speaks of duos and trios, he seems to preempt any call for comprehensive dialogue, warning the Parliament Speaker against using the presidency as a platform to oversee national dialogue.

In Bassil's view, the President is the one who should conduct national dialogue, with the current discussions centered solely on the presidency, as per the sources.

Bassil's attempt to alter not only the format of the dialogue but also its location, leaving it open-ended, is seen by some as another blow to Berri's initiative.

With the current lack of cohesion between Mirna Chalouhi and Ain el-Tineh, sources following Berri's initiative see Bassil's call as merely a further waste of time.

Berri has never presented himself as a dialogue convener, and his initiative is built around one goal: a limited-time dialogue about the presidency to lead to the direct election of a president in open consecutive sessions.

Therefore, introducing duos and trios is deemed illogical since the country is already fundamentally divided into two opposing opinions. As such, any limited-party dialogue appears futile.

With Bassil's proposal seemingly at odds with Berri's initiative, the presidential vacuum continues to persist and expand.