Even though the parliamentary elections have yet to be held, “Hezbollah” on Tuesday began setting its sights on the candidate who could potentially head the new government after the May 6 polls.
These claims were fueled by party Deputy Secretary General Naim Qassem’s statement that the party does not have an “available candidate for the post,” adding however that was not necessary for the next premier to head a large parliamentary bloc or be a lawmaker.
In a televised speech, Qassem settled the issue of the next parliament speaker when he asserted that current speaker, Nabih Berri, will be re-elected for a sixth time to his post.
When asked about the premiership, he replied: “We do not have an available candidate yet. We will decide who is our nominee when we see the lineup of the next parliament.”
Qassem’s comments refuted all previous reports about the presence of a presidential deal that led to the election of Michel Aoun as president and the appointment of Saad Hariri as prime minister.
Reports claimed that the Free Patriotic Movement, which was founded by Aoun, had received a pledge from the party to support the premiership of Hariri throughout Aoun’s era.
In this regard, FPM leading figure and candidate in the Chouf-Aley district, Mario Aoun told Asharq Al-Awsat that the issue of the upcoming premiership is “almost settled,” as the movement supports Hariri’s appointment.
Aoun said the FPM is committed to naming Hariri because he is a partner in the big reformist operation launched following the election of Michel Aoun as president in 2016.
The FPM is exerting efforts to secure a large parliamentary bloc during the May 6 polls in order to back the appointment of Hariri to head the next cabinet, he continued.
Commenting on claims saying that the FPM had received pledges from “Hezbollah” to support the premiership of Hariri, Aoun said: “This is completely inaccurate.”
The FPM official said a political agreement could be reached following the parliamentary elections concerning the premiership and speaker positions.
“We have not discussed these two issues. We will wait the outcome of the next polls to decide accordingly,” he said.
