In an interview with Agence France-Presse, Lebanese Forces Party Chief Samir Geagea confirmed that “the change that resulted from the recent parliamentary elections, with Hezbollah losing the majority, necessitates a change in political performance, according to which the Lebanese state becomes the strategic decision-maker in peace and war and in the foreign policy.”
“The Lebanese Forces Party intends to work to return the entire strategic decision to the Lebanese state, at which stage no one has the right to transcend the state with regards to foreign policy, while restricting the security and military decision to the Lebanese army, and therefore no one can initiate a new July war or transfer missiles from one place to another except with the approval and knowledge of the Lebanese Army,” Geagea asserted.
He considered that “the new path begins with the election of a parliament speaker who will help complete the task and preserve the entity and the Lebanese state,” noting herein that “we cannot elect House Speaker Nabih Berri at all because he is part of the other team.”
Geagea referred to “intensive contacts with all the deputies who emerged from the ‘October 17th Revolution’ to find out the best frameworks for coordinating positions, given that we at least agree on the establishment of an actual Lebanese state, away from corruption, clientelism, quotas and narrow private interests.”
As for the upcoming cabinet, the LF Chief affirmed, “We reject the formation of a national unity government on the grounds that this type of government is an illusion, and from here, we support the formation of an effective majority government that includes a closely-connected work team that agrees on one project.”
“If a government is formed that inspires trust and credibility, has clear orientations and a well-defined political project, and shows seriousness in its approach, then it is almost certain that Arab relations will return to what they were in the past, and Arab aid will gradually flow to Lebanon,” assured Geagea.
He concluded by stressing the importance of “forming such a government that speeds-up negotiations with the International Monetary Fund, the agreement with which is the main prelude to stopping the collapse in Lebanon.”
Source: National News Agency – Lebanon