A war of words between the Amal Movement and the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) reemerged on Monday, only few days since Speaker Nabih Berri received at his residence FPM leader and caretaker Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil in a meeting that hoped to dissipate tension between the two parties and clam down a possible street confrontation between supporters of both camps.
The Amal-FPM disrupted relationship is mainly due to a dispute over the way the state is managed. However, a new disagreement emerged between the two parties over the early launch of the presidential campaign, four years prior to its deadline after President Michel Aoun said: “The war against Bassil is because he is a front-runner for the next presidential battle.”
Parliamentary sources told Asharq Al-Awsat they were surprised by Aoun’s statement and his decision to open the file of the presidential race four years prior to its deadline.
“The President’s declaration further complicated the file of the cabinet formation and created additional obstacles,” the sources said.
Other sources close to Berri told Asharq Al-Awsat that during his meeting with deputy speaker Elie Ferzli and minister Bassil, " the Speaker agreed with his hosts on national principles including to speed up the formation of a national unity government and to save the economy.”
The sources added that Berri and Bassil agreed on the return of Syrian refugees through the arrangement reached between President Aoun, Berri and PM-designate at the Presidential Palace and not Bassil’s strategy.
However, the sources confirmed the presence of disputes between the two sides over the electricity crisis and the file of fighting corruption.
Also, FPM sources said that building a strategic relationship with the Amal Movement is almost “impossible.”
Member of the Strong Lebanon parliamentary bloc MP Ziad Aswad told Asharq Al-Awsat on Monday there is a big dispute between his party and the Amal over the management of the state and the means of solving its problems.
“Unfortunately, the state is divided and every leader decides to manage it according to his mood,” he said.
