Presidential crisis: Settlement remains the only way out after refusing dialogue

From the Christian blocs' stances, the Parliament Speaker's call for a seven-day dialogue will not receive a positive response.

Consequently, the presidential crisis will continue to hinder progress, leaving the situation stagnant until a game-changing development occurs.

This article was originally published in, translated from online newspaper "Al Anbaa."

While the opposing group views this dialogue as a maneuver to circumvent the ideas and proposals that French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian is expected to bring during his upcoming visit to Lebanon on September 11, informed sources expressed surprise at the opposition's stance. They pointed out in their conversation with the electronic newspaper "Al-Anbaa" that "the rejection of Berri's invitation by the Strong Republic, the Kataeb, the Renewal Movement for Lebanon, and some of the Change MPs, along with the hesitance of independent MPs and the maneuvering of the Strong Lebanon bloc, wastes a precious opportunity for Lebanon in case the seven-day dialogue succeeds."

The opposition's stance against the dialogue was articulated by MP Bilal al-Hashimi, who stated, "The dialogue called for by Berri will not yield results because the Amal-Hezbollah duo cannot abandon their nomination of Sleiman Frangieh as president, and the opposition will not accept that. They either agree on Jihad Azour or look for another alternative. If no agreement is reached, we will elect the president, with each team electing its candidate, while they want us to secure the quorum for them to elect Frangieh, and this will not happen."

On the other hand, al-Hashimi considered that "the visit of Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Abdollahian to Lebanon was a response to French President Emmanuel Macron's accusations against Iran of obstructing the French initiative," describing his statements as "diplomatic and insufficient to convince Hezbollah to abandon Frangieh. If Hezbollah's intentions were sincere, we would have elected a president a year ago."

Furthermore, al-Hashimi expressed concern about a leadership vacuum in the army after the term of General Joseph Aoun ended, given the vacuum in the Military Council and the Chief of Staff position. "This stalemate seems to be spreading to everything in the country. The situation in Lebanon is no longer healthy, and the culture of vacuum is dominant, with the dollar replacing the lira," he said, ruling out the possibility of Le Drian making any breakthrough in the presidential file, as Berri's invitation to dialogue and its rejection by opposition forces thwarted French efforts once again.

While there is still a chance for Berri to pursue dialogue, which remains the only way forward regardless of its form, national reconciliation remains the only solution. Walid Jumblatt reaffirmed this during a meeting on Saturday. The continued rejection of this idea imposes burdens on the country that it can no longer bear.