Lebanese elections make for strange alliances

Political contacts among the main forces in north Lebanon and the elections in general have brought together old opponents joining each other in a mesh of political alliances and rivalries.

Heated politics reached its peak as a result of the political fights led by parliamentarian Walid Junblat on one hand and Michael Aoun standing on the other.

The chairman of the Socialist Progressive party, Walid Junblat, had asked his aides to move to contact all groups with political influence regardless to their size. He had raised this issue with the speaker of the Lebanese parliament Nabih Berri, according to a reciprocated understanding that requires from Berri to pressure all Shiite groups in Baabda and Aley to support Junblat's list in return for Junblat to renew his commitment to provide all support for Berri's candidate in Rashaya, the Western Bekaa, Naseer Nasrullah.

The Hizbullah party Shoura council, the highest leading commission in the party, made a decision to join the Junblat list in the Baabda-Aley area and to support Aoun's candidates in Keserwan, Jbeil and Zahleh as well as to maintain an alliance with the Amal movement, The Progressive Socialist party of Junblat, and with the al-Mustaqbal trend of al-Hariri in the Western Bekaa.

Junblat visited the secretary general of the Lebanese Hizbullah party Hassan Nasrullah and discussed with him the elections issues, starting from the results of Beirut to what is expected in the Bekaa and Mount Lebanon, especially the presumed alliance between the two sides in Baabda-Aley. Junblat said that there is "a coordination and an alliance with Hizbullah in this circle. We will shortly announce the list with all its formation. It is not to isolate any one."

Junblat criticized Aoun but without naming him, regretting the campaign in Beirut's elections, calling for reaction and co-existence in all areas. Later, Junblat visited the elected Lebanese parliamentarian Saad al-Hariri in his house in Qreitem and discussions concentrated on the elections.

For his part, Hariri received a large delegation from Sidon and talked to them reacting to the campaign against al-Mustaqbal trend and Junblat, saying in support of Junblat that "Walid Junblat defied control ( Syrian control) during the crisis." He said "we do not have a problem towards the one who decide to leave the alliance of March 14" stressing that he will stand beside "those who stood with us on March 14 (date of the assassination of his father)" with the attempt to expand the table of dialogue with Hizbullah and President Nabih Berri." Hariri added that "after the withdrawal of the Syrians, the Lebanese security systems are still working for the destabilization of this country."

He added "during the four coming years we should launch our fight, altogether, against what is left of the control of the security forces and the corruption in the authorities and to work on maintaining economic reforms, the martyr premier (Rafiq al-Hariri) was prevented from."

As for Aoun, his list will be announced today. It includes familiar names. Alliance sources denied news which talked about the withdrawal of lawyer Asaad Abi Raad at the request of the leader of the Lebanese Forces, Samir Jajaa.

For his part, Aoun said he is trying to bring together all forces within the list following the alliances that took place in Baabda-Aley in which the Lebanese Forces took part. "We asked the phalangists to specify their position via parliamentarian Antoine Ghanem, who said he is with Walid Junblat. We had also the same request with President Amin al-Gemayel who promised to give answer but we had none .. We worked to compose a list in northern al-Matin in which we left 3 vacant seats that will enable people to democratically express themselves."