Walid Jumblatt passes down authority to son

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s main Druze leader, Walid Jumblatt, handed his political authority to his son Taimur on Sunday, extending the tradition of dynastic politics that plays a big part in the country’s government.

In his speech, which was listened to by tens of thousands of his Druze supporters, Jumblatt reminded them how his father supported the Palestinian cause, and he gave his son Taimur, who stood beside him, a traditional Palestinian kuffiyah scarf. Taimur, he told him publicly, should “carry the heritage of your wonderful grandfather and raise high the banner of occupied Arab Palestine.”

He claimed that Druze and Christians “achieved Lebanon’s reconciliation” after the civil war, a statement which has grave historical roots.

The move was widely reported in Lebanese media as a symbol of transferring his political leadership.

Scores of supporters flocked to the event, which marked the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Walid Jumblatt’s father, Kamal Jumblatt.

Walid Jumblatt took on his family’s political leadership after the assassination in the early years of the Lebanese civil war. He was one of the main figures in the country’s 1975-90 conflict. The Druze are an important minority in Lebanon’s system of government. Jumblatt has frequently played a major in Lebanese politics. He was also a leading figure in the country’s anti-Syrian political coalition.