Yesterday's political scene was no less tumultuous than its judicial counterpart, amid interesting information about the fate of the French initiative that had previously been enthusiastic about promoting the resistance option by bringing the head of the "Marada Movement," Sleiman Frangieh, to the Baabda Presidential Palace.
Speaker Nabih Berri seemed to have lost his grip on the situation after investing in speculations claiming that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia supported the Élysée initiative to elect Frangieh as President of Lebanon.
The last round of meetings held by the Kingdom's ambassador, Walid Bukhari, who met with Berri, dispelled these speculations. The latter was quoted as saying yesterday that "there is no qualitative news" regarding the Saudi position on the presidential election.
Thus, Frangieh's card collapsed, making Berri the biggest loser after leading the internal marketing phase of the resistance candidate.
As for "Hezbollah," which was not in a hurry like Berri to announce Frangieh's candidacy weeks ago, it began bargaining for an alternative amid information indicating that "the party" seeks to reach a basket of agreements that include both the presidency and the government.
This means that "the party" perseveres in the same path as the "Élysée's broker," but to no avail. It does not seem that "the party" will be luckier than the French mediator, which means that the shift of "the party" will take time.
Previously, there was an attempt to influence the position of the leader of the "Free Patriotic Movement," Gebran Bassil, in order to ensure that he participates in securing the quorum for the election session of the "Marada" candidate.
It should be noted that Bassil has never spoken about the quorum for such a session.
Sources told "Nidaa al-Watan" that the Qatari security delegation currently visiting Lebanon met secretly with the leader of the "Free Patriotic Movement" and warned him against contributing to securing the quorum for Frangieh's election session if it were to be held, as there are concerns that could lead to unknown consequences due to the widespread Christian objection to the candidate of "Hezbollah."
The US movement active through Ambassador Dorothy Shea appeared to be in harmony with the Saudi ambassador's movement, and its essence yesterday was to urge the acceleration of presidential elections after the failure of the French initiative.
The fall of the French initiative paved the way for the emergence of internal and external balance, which paved the way for a solution to the presidential crisis.
While Christian authorities are waiting for the French administration to present a new candidate after the Frangieh paper was burned due to the rejection of the "Lebanese Forces," the "Free Patriotic Movement," and other Christian components to elect him, in addition to Arab rejection of supporting an ally candidate of "Hezbollah," sources in Bkerke through "Nidaa al-Watan" indicated that the Saudi ambassador reaffirmed the Kingdom's respect for Bkerke's national and presidential role, and standing behind the Patriarch Rai and the Lebanese people in what they agree on presidentially, and supporting the path to save Lebanon.
The Kingdom's condition for assistance is to be met halfway by the Lebanese in electing a sovereign, reformist, and salvation president who is not involved in financial and political corruption. The ambassador stressed to the Patriarch that all talk of exchanging Lebanon for Yemen is baseless, as the Kingdom will not abandon any Arab country, let alone Lebanon.
Regarding Ambassador Bukhari's tour yesterday, sources emphasized the necessity of respecting the will of Christians in the presidential election.
The Patriarch calls for the greatest national consensus and, therefore, will not accept the election of a president who does not receive the support of the "Lebanese Forces," the "Free Patriotic Movement," "the Kataeb Party," and the rest of the Christian components, and the establishment of new customs that exclude Christians and impose a president on them because such a president cannot govern.
In addition, "Nidaa al-Watan" has learned that Bukhari informed friends in Riyadh, including the "Lebanese Forces," that the Kingdom stands behind them in the presidential file and is betting on the "strength of their bloc," and supports them to the fullest extent, in order to elect a sovereign and reformist president who will return Lebanon to its natural position. In the event of such a president's election, the Kingdom is ready to help in the rescue process.