BEIRUT: Prime Minister Tammam Salam Monday described the launch of dialogue between the Future Movement and Hezbollah as “a major political development,” voicing hope that talks between the two rival parties would lead to ending the 7-month-old presidential vacuum.
He warned that the continued vacancy in the top Christian post weakened the country and posed “a big danger” to all the Lebanese.
Speaking to employees and security officers at the Grand Serail during an end-of-the-year reception, Salam reiterated his call to elect a new president, pinning hope on the Future-Hezbollah dialogue to make a breakthrough in the presidential impasse.
Referring to the talks that kicked off last week between senior officials from the Future Movement and Hezbollah sponsored by Speaker Nabih Berri at his residence in Ain al-Tineh, Salam said: “It is a major political development. The ongoing dialogue between two major political forces in this country might be a gateway to eliminating obstacles in the way of holding the presidential vote.”
He lamented Parliament’s failure over the past eight months to elect a president, saying that the work of state institutions in the country’s democratic system was marred by “a major flaw” as a result of the presidential vacuum.
Parliament has repeatedly failed since April due to a lack of quorum to choose a successor to former President Michel Sleiman, whose six-year mandate ended on May 25.
Berri called Monday for a new Parliament session to elect a president on Jan. 7 amid signs that the session was destined to fail like the previous 17 abortive attempts as the rival March 8 and March 14 parties remain split over a consensus candidate to break the deadlock that has paralyzed Parliament legislation and is threatening to cripple the government’s work.
The presidential crisis and regional developments were discussed during a meeting between Salam and the U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon David Hale.
The U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Derek Plumbly also welcomed the Future-Hezbollah dialogue, voicing hope that it would help resolve outstanding problems and end the presidential void.
“I welcomed the initiatives underway with respect to dialogue between political parties in Lebanon, including the dialogue meeting held last week between the Future Movement and Hezbollah under the auspices of the Parliament speaker,” Plumbly told reporters after meeting Salam at the Grand Serail. “Clearly dialogue is important for unity and stability in these difficult times. We very much hope that these steps will contribute to resolving outstanding issues, and in the first place fill the vacancy in the presidency.”
Plumbly said he discussed with Salam the security situation, including the implementation of U.N. Resolution 1701 and the crucial role played by the Lebanese Army in the south and elsewhere in the country.
He praised Lebanon’s security forces, particularly the Army, for all the efforts and sacrifices they have made to safeguard the country in the face of “grave challenges” this year.
Future MP Ammar Houri voiced hope that the dialogue with Hezbollah would lead to a breakthrough in the presidential election deadlock and defuse sectarian tensions. He said there was no specific agenda for each session.
The next dialogue session will be held on Jan. 5.
“There are two main headlines [for the dialogue]: making a breakthrough in the presidency file and reducing street tensions by expanding the security plan and lowering media rhetoric,” Houri told the Voice of Lebanon radio station.
Future MP Atef Majdalani said what mattered in the talks with Hezbollah was for the two parties to agree on the two points put by former Prime Minister Saad Hariri on the agenda of this dialogue: reducing Sunni-Shiite tensions and finding a mechanism to allow the election of a president.
“Today, amid the vacancy in the presidency post, Lebanon’s existence and the security situation are in jeopardy. Parliament is paralyzed and the government is in a state of confusion, paralyzed and cannot make any decisions” Majdalani told reporters after a delegation of Beirut MPs met with Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdel Latif Darian at Dar al-Fatwa in Beirut.
“Therefore, these two points are essential to draw up a road map for peace in Lebanon,” he said.
He added that he hoped the Future-Hezbollah dialogue would lead to talks between other feuding parties, in a clear reference to attempts to arrange a meeting between Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun and his political opponent, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea.
A similar view was echoed by Ahmad Hariri, the secretary-general of the Future Movement who expressed hopes that discussions between his party and Hezbollah would be replicated by the rival Christian parties.
“We hope that dialogue sessions would start between all political parties, especially Christian parties,” Hariri said during a ceremony held in the northern district Akkar.
Dialogue between all Lebanese factions, he said, could secure a “national compromise” that would lead to the election of a president.
Hariri noted that the Future Movement was “positive” in its approach to holding talks with Hezbollah, given that dialogue serves national interests.
Officials from the Future Movement and Hezbollah have said the dialogue was primarily aimed at defusing Sunni-Shiite tensions fueled by the war in Syria, facilitating the presidential vote, boosting efforts to combat terrorism, promoting a new electoral law and energizing stagnant state institutions.
Divisive issues such as Hezbollah’s military intervention in Syria, the party’s arsenal and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, which is investigating the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, are not on the dialogue agenda.
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