Kataeb Party chief MP Sami Gemayel stressed Sunday that his party has no “hostile” stances towards anyone in Lebanon, while noting that President Michel Aoun “is known to be a man of surprises.”
“We hope President Aoun will surprise us with heroic stances, including not allowing any group to monopolize Lebanon’s foreign decisions, which must be in the hand of the State,” Gemayel said during a party ceremony in Jbeil.
A war of words had recently erupted between Kataeb and the Lebanese Forces over the issue of participation in the new government.
“Claims of being aggrieved are not useful today,” LF bloc MP Antoine Zahra said Friday, after Gemayel accused LF leader Samir Geagea of seeking to exclude Kataeb from the new government.
“This is not the first time that we face an isolation attempt,” Gemayel lamented earlier, decrying how “Geagea does not mind to be with Hizbullah in the same government as he refuses Kataeb’s participation.”
Aoun’s election and Saad Hariri’s appointment as premier-designate have raised hopes that Lebanon can begin tackling challenges including a stagnant economy, a moribund political class and the influx of more than a million Syrian refugees.
Horsetrading in the cabinet formation process is currently revolving around the distribution of key posts like the finance, defense and energy ministries.
Lebanon
