The positions that the French Presidential Envoy, Jean-Yves Le Drian, heard from the Lebanese leaders after three days of lengthy meetings that he held in search of a way out of the presidential impasse that has been going on for nearly eight months painted a sufficient picture of the closed presidential path.
This article was originally published in and translated from the Lebanese newspaper al-Liwaa.
Both the opposition and the loyalists stressed their adherence to their two candidates, Jihad Azour and Sleiman Frangieh.
Le Drian clearly announced his visit as a "reconnaissance" tour, and he did not carry a solution plan, which was expected, as long as each team still maintained its positions and did not show any willingness to facilitate the mission of the French guest.
This is especially on the part of the Shiite duo who refuse to concede Frangieh at a time when opposition circles affirmed that "the French move will not bear fruit if the other team does not abandon its candidate and announces its willingness to search for other options that would facilitate the issue of the elections."
It said, "Hezbollah wants to negotiate over Frangieh, and this is absolutely out of the question."
Sources confirmed to al-Liwaa that the French envoy, who will carry the outcome of his meetings with officials and leaders in Lebanon to put them on the table of President Emmanuel Macron to determine the nature of the subsequent steps, did not hide in front of those who met them the difficulty of the task entrusted to him, because he did not see a change in the positions of the concerned parties regarding the presidential election.
Although, he indicated that he would visit Beirut next month to follow up on the French efforts aimed at bridging distances regarding the presidential file.
The information affirmed that Le Drian, who did not indicate that his country was still clinging to Frangieh for the presidency, was certainly clear that no president can be elected except by consensus, and this is what requires the Lebanese political leaders to take the initiative to bridge the gap regarding this file, with what they can.
If it meets with the support of a consensual personality, it can get Lebanon out of the miserable situation in which it is floundering at all levels.
The information reveals that Le Drian's second visit may constitute an occasion for the French side to propose to the Lebanese parties steps moving towards the support of a consensual candidate, which may be the outcome of Arab and French consultations, from which Washington will not be far away, given that there is an impossibility to elect any of the candidates.
Here, the name of the Army Commander, General Joseph Aoun, who captured the attention in the talks of the presidential envoy in Lebanon, appears, however, without hearing clear support from the political components, for his explicit support for the presidency, although he did hear praise for his role at the head of the military establishment, and for the achievements he made during his tenure in confronting terrorism at various levels.
This certainly raises General Aoun's presidential balance, pending the developments that the coming weeks will bring regarding the French-Saudi movement in this regard.
The luncheon, which was hosted by Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to Lebanon, Walid Bukhari, in honor of the Arab and Muslim ambassadors, which the Iranian ambassador attended, and the welcome the latter received from his host, a meeting that Bukhari holds annually, was also an occasion to keep pace with the movement of the envoy and to seek to crystallize a vision close to between the Saudi and French endeavors.
This is in parallel with the meeting of President Macron's envoy, with the ambassadors of the countries emerging from the five-party committee, to reach a shared vision that accelerates the completion of the presidential elections, as there was an emphasis on the need to create climates that allow Lebanon to get out of this predicament that weighs on it and exacerbates the dangers that threaten it at all levels.
Follow-up political sources stopped in front of the words of the US Ambassador to Lebanon, Dorothy Shea, who anticipated Le Drian's arrival in Beirut with a remarkable position in a recorded speech from Washington on the occasion of her country's national holiday.
During which, she touched on the characteristics of the future president contained in the French-American-Saudi tripartite statement issued in New York in September 2022, in which there will be "a non-corrupt president who can unite the people and work with regional and international actors to overcome the crisis, and form a government capable of implementing structural and economic reforms to address the political and economic crisis and keep up with the stage of entitlements."
The sources told al-Liwaa, "The Americans wanted to send a message to the French, warning them against going with Frangieh's choice as Hezbollah's candidate."
"This is something that Washington will not accept, and it is determined to confront Hezbollah's candidate, which will prompt Paris to take into account the American warning and to search for other options that mitigate the confrontation with opponents of Frangieh's election."