Lebanon’s opposition parties have planned to increase coordination in confronting President Michel Aoun, who they accuse of plotting to unilaterally run the country through the government of Prime Minister Hassan Diab.
However, several sources said the parties will not merge into a unified opposition alliance.
A number of opposition deputies told Asharq Al-Awsat on Sunday that the relationship between al-Mustaqbal Movement leader Saad Hariri, Progressive Socialist Party chief Walid Jumblatt and the head of the Lebanese Forces, Samir Geagea, will likely improve as the level of coordination among them increases to confront Aoun.
The lawmakers said that a deal reached between Geagea, Aoun and Hariri on the eve of the presidential elections in October 2016 has collapsed.
“Hariri’s return to Beirut last week would pave the way for intense consultations and contacts between the three sides to discuss the post Aoun-deal phase,” the deputies said.
Opposition MPs admit that although Jumblatt holds a good relationship with both Hariri and Geagea, relations between al-Mustaqbal and the LF need an improvement.
“There is a need to reinforce their shaky relationship,” they said.
The increased coordination among the three leaders is a direct threat to the Free Patriotic Movement, which is founded by Aoun and led by his son-in-law Gebran Bassil.
The FPM has been hit by the decision of several MPs to leave its parliamentary bloc, and by a decline in popular support, the sources said.
