Beirut: Lebanese media outlets have revealed that General Michel Aoun, the leader of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), has settled on his son-in-law Foreign Minister Jibran Bassil to succeed him.
According to the LBCI television network, Aoun apparently told his apparatchiks that he would also select the two party vice-presidents, one of whom was expected to be his nephew, Alain Aoun.
Aoun told senior members gathered in his Rabieh home that “the agreement over the elections [scheduled for September 20, 2015] was based on the will of the majority,” and that he blessed it, even if the exercise prevented the party’s estimated 14,000 members from actually voting for any candidates. The former army commander called for loyalty, which drew sly remarks, including from deputy Alain Aoun, the unlucky contender, who said: “I was seeking in this race to present my vision of the leadership of the movement for the upcoming phase, and “sought to present what I thought was best and most appropriate for the FPM based on the experience of the past ten years and what challenges we may expect in the future.”
An allegedly democratic institution, the FPM promised a free electoral campaign, though Michel Aoun’s appointment of his son-in-law and, even more egregious, his declaration that he would also appoint the two vice-presidents, raised the ire of disillusioned loyalists. Many lamented the nepotism that the leader practised, especially after internal polls indicated that Bassil would lose to Alain Aoun, which was deemed unacceptable. A reluctant Alain Aoun urged his supporters “to overcome this phase and continue on working together for the interest and future of the movement,” although many anticipated clashes between him and his eventual party leader after Michel Aoun passed away from the political scene.
Bassil, a 45-year-old civil engineer who earned a degree from the American University of Beirut, carried heavy baggage as a highly controversial politician. In September 2014, and as he was scheduled to meet a Gulf official on the sidelines of the annual United Nations General Assembly gathering, Bassil asked one of his assistants about “Caroline” [Ziadé, the chargé d’affaires at Lebanon’s UN Mission], which surprised the official. Bassil’s hand gesture spoke volumes, implying that the attractive woman’s presence was desired. More recently, cameras caught him in a shouting match with Prime Minister Tammam Salam, which broke all diplomatic norms.
Bassil is married to Chantale Aoun with whom he has three children.
