Tension between Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt has reached unprecedented levels but not to the point of a permanent “political divorce,” mutual friends have said.
Speaker Nabih Berri has been playing a leading role in dissipating tension between supporters of the Mustaqbal Movement and the PSP after a recent war of words and an exchange of counter accusations blew out of proportions.
The sources said however that the dispute would not reach a total freeze in relations.
They said Berri would remain in contact with Hariri and would meet Jumblatt after returning from a trip to Italy.
Observers believe that any permanent impasse in Hariri-Jumblatt relations would definitely weaken their position, particularly amid attempts by the camp of President Michel Aoun to violate the Taef Accord.
Several Lebanese officials close to Aoun have lately insisted that all civil servant posts be distributed equally between Christians and Muslims.
However, observers said that those requests contradict the spirit of Article 95 of the Taef Accord, which stipulates that only Grade One posts and their equivalents shall be distributed equally between Christians and Muslims without reserving any particular job for any sectarian group but rather applying the principles of expertise and competence.
According to the observers, Aoun’s son-in-law Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil has been meddling in the affairs of other cabinet ministers and trying to impose decisions on them.
Amid the attempts to violated the Taef Accord, sources said the Hariri-Jumblatt dispute would not last long. They added that parties other than Berri are expected to mediate the dispute between the PM and the PSP chief.
