The head of the Democratic Gathering MP Walid Jumblatt, tired of the horizon narrowness in Lebanon, openly says he misses Damascus…
Believe it or not… The Druze leader, who launched one week ago his famous “coup” against his so-called “allies” in the March 14 bloc, went too far in his newest “inclination” until declaring publicly that he misses Syria and wants to rectify his relation with the Syrian leaders, after four years in which Jumblatt didn’t hesitate to “insult” them…
Speaking during an exclusive interview with Al-Manar, Jumblatt found strange the reaction of his “ally” and “friend,” MP Saad Hariri, to his latest statements. “What could I do more to satisfy Hariri?” Jumblatt wondered, revealing that he has directly explained to the PM-Designate his latest statements. He recalled that he has sent Minister Ghazi Aridi as an envoy to tell Hariri that he didn’t intend at all to obstruct Hariri’s mission.
Jumblatt said that he was waiting for Hariri’s return to Beirut to meet him and clarify matters, saying that he wants the cabinet formation process to start again in order to see a new cabinet very soon. “The process shouldn’t last too long,” Jumblatt emphasized, adding that there were no conflicts over the cabinet’s policy statement that won’t be very different from the current one.
Asked about his current positioning in the political scene, Jumblatt said he was centrist. He pointed out that he would adopt consensus as a mandatory condition in all major decisions in the country. He also praised the dialogue roundtable that organized the conflicts during the earlier phase.
Concerning the relation with Syria, the Progressive Socialist Party leader said that he was missing the Syrian capital. “I’m tired of the horizon narrowness in Lebanese during the few previous years,” Jumblatt said. However, Jumblatt expressed belief that he has to pass by some preliminary steps before going too far in his new rhetoric. “What I said against President Bachar Assad and the Syrian people was very painful,” he admitted. “Therefore, I should find a way to handle the whole issue,” Jumblatt said, recalling at the same time that he wouldn’t visit the Syrian capital before Hariri does.
Jumblatt said he agrees with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on the importance of the Saudi-Syrian consensus, stressing that the good relations between Riyadh and Damascus would reflect positively on Lebanon.
The PSP leader also said he was satisfied with reconciliations taking place, saying that he hopes to expand them to include the Sunni and Shiite fronts. He pointed out that “extremist slogans” were not useful at all, finding strange the comments made by the March 14 Christians following his latest statements.
Jumblatt concluded his interview with Al-Manar by stressing that his relationship with President Michel Sleiman was solid, based on mutual trust. He said that President Sleiman was right for calling to reconsider the President’s authorities “since it’s illogical that the President of the Republic has authorities less than any minister.” But he added: “Expanding the authorities to include the possibility of dissolving the Parliament is hard, and might provoke the Christians.”