Makary: Bassil’s Demands “Not Partisan”, Deserve To Be Seriously Looked Into

Caretaker Minister of Information, Ziad Makary, said in an interview with the “Voice of All Lebanon” radio station that the initiative launched by House Speaker, Nabih Berri, for dialogue was the only breakthrough amid the current political deadlock.

“Breaking the presidential crisis requires either an internal or an external initiative,” he added.

Makary went on to point out that there were political teams that rejected dialogue or “any initiative proposed”, ruling out “a quick solution to the crisis that Lebanon endures.”

Regarding the opposition’s opinion that Berri’s initiative would not have come about without the latter’s certainty of securing quorum for the electoral session, and the victory of Marada Movement Leader, Sleiman Frangieh, Makary said: “If the democratic game goes like this, then they are supposed to adhere to it.”

Moreover, Makary regretted the presence of “obstruction tools in the hands of both sides of the political divide”; yet he expected “a serious breach in the presidential scene towards the election of Maranda’s Frangieh, if the majority of the parties agree to dialogue and secure quorum.”

In response to a question about the extent of Sleiman Frangieh’s willingness to adhere to the Free Patriotic Movement’s conditions in return for assuming the presidency in Baabda, Makary said: “Minister Gebran Bassil’s demands are not partisan and deserve to be seriously studied in order be applied.”

Makary then addressed those who deem Sleiman Frangieh’s assumption of the presidency a consecration of Hezbollah’s control over the country by saying, “Those objecting [Frangieh’s presidency] are the very same ones who elected Michel Aoun as President of the Republic seven years ago. It is a good thing to read about the history of every person. Whoever speaks this way, should have a clean history electing presidents.”

“Only a president who brings together the various political forces in Lebanon can assume power, and this is what applies to Sleiman Frangieh,” Makary concluded.

NNA