Beirut: According to the pro-Hezbollah daily Al Akhbar, the head of the Maronite Church, Cardinal Mar Bisharah Al Ra‘i, allegedly visited Hezbollah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah a few weeks ago, prompted by French President Francois Hollande during the latter’s trip to Lebanon.
The daily quoted sources claiming that the two officials discussed the vacuum at the presidential post in the light of a recent proposal to shorten the presidential term from six to two years as a temporary solution, although the powerful Beirut Bishop Boulos Matar refuted assertions that Bkirki, the seat of the Maronite Church, had anything to do with the alleged proposal and noted that there were several attempts to drag the name of the patriarchate in this debate that, he affirmed, “were not innocent.”
Media reports have spoken lately of proposals calling for shortening the term of a potential “transitional president,” though few believed that such an option was possible, with Matar telling the Kuwaiti Al Anba’ daily on May 1 that Speaker Hussain Hussaini was responsible for introducing changes in the president’s term, not Bkirki. “Bkirki seeks the election of a head of state as soon as possible and for a full term, not a diminished one,” Matar told Al Anba’, insisting that “the shortening of the term of the president violates the dignity of the Lebanese presidency”.
Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Sulaiman ended on May 24, 2014 without the election of a successor.
On Wednesday, Bkirki did not comment on Al Akhbar’s story, but sources from the March 8 alliance said that communications between Bkirki and the leadership of Hezbollah did in fact occur after Hollande pressed for just such a meeting. If true, that would indeed be an uncharacteristic move, highlighting a significant break between Paris and putative Arab allies.
Hezbollah sources emphasised in their daily mouthpiece that such reports are mainly rumours, though it was unclear whether the paper added fuel to the fire with these latest allegations.
