Opposition to Franjieh unites Aoun and Geagea

If its one thing that rival Lebanese politicians can agree on, its that they do not want Sulaiman Franjieh to become president. A proposal initiated a few weeks back by former Lebanese prime minister Sa’ad Hariri has been fiercely resisted by both presidential hopefuls Samir Geagea and Michel Aoun. Lebanese Forces leader Geagea is vehemently anti-Syrian while Free Patriotic Movement leader Aoun is Hezbollah’s candidate and will be proDamascus. Lebanon has been without a president since May 2014 after Michel Sulaiman’s term ended.

Since then, political paralysis has gripped the nation, largely related to the Syrian conflict next door.

Currently, the initiative appears to be on the verge of collapse. On Friday, the LF’s number two official, deputy George Adwan, emphasised that his party was not ready to entertain every recommendation “that come from ambassadors”. It was a thinly-veiled jibe at Western leaders said to be encouraging the deal.

According to a report in yesterday’s Al Nahar daily, the US Embassy in Lebanon invited leading Christian officials to a high-level meeting that, the paper asserted, resembled a convocation rather than an opportunity to engage in an honest exchange.

Last week, former president Sulaiman formed his own political party called the Republican Forum. The party platform pushes a centrist agenda that pledges to put the state above everything else. It could also attract supporters disillusioned by Lebanon’s polarised politics.

March 14 is an alliance of anti-Syrian political forces who back Geagea as their candidate. Hariri’s Future Movement is part of this alliance. March 8 includes Hezbollah and the FPM movement and is pro-Syrian.