"I can try to be a prime minister, but we still have some symbols of the past who brought the country so much harm. If we are able to get rid of them after the elections, I would be interested in taking the post," responded Saad when asked about his plans for premiership.

Hariri criticized Lahoud for letting "the intelligence [apparatus] interfere in every single department or ministry," he continued to blame the corrupt intelligence, saying they "sold themselves [to Syria]."

When asked whether Syria had fully withdrawn, Saad seemed unconvinced, "We should not think that because the Syrians are out, [that] they don't have constituents here ... After the elections, we [must] start getting rid of people who used to work in intelligence and in politics at the same time."

Hariri stated his commitment to Walid Jumblatt, "I am not going to leave Jumblatt in the middle of the road. Our main ally in the opposition is Walid Jumblatt." He also echoed Jumblatt's repeated calls for the resignation of Lahoud, "We all want to get rid of him. Nobody wants him there."

Regarding his plans for Lebanon's future, Hariri responded, "We have a clear vision and a clear plan to end the corruption. This is going to take four years of hard work ... The second thing is the economy. We have some good [indications] from the Europeans, the Americans and the Gulf States that they are willing to help Lebanon after the elections, and this is encouraging ... We have always had very good relations with the United States and we should make them even better."

"I think one of the major priorities is the legal system. We need to make it up-to-date. Social Security is a big problem. ... We have to understand that we come out of 30 years of not making decisions by ourselves, of having [another] country telling us what to do."

When asked if he feared the same fate as his father, "Whoever killed Rafiq Hariri can kill Saad Hariri. Nothing would stop them. It doesn't deter me."

The touchy subject of Hizbollah came up, and Hariri committed to holding disarmament negotiations with Hizbollah, "We will disarm them. We will sit and talk to them and we will come to a solution ... Hezbollah needs to think Lebanese. If it wants to get involved in the political life, it has to give up some things."

Hariri stressed the importance of peace with Syria, stating "We will respect their sovereignty, and we hope that they will respect ours." He is also in favor of peace with Israel, stating "We don't want wars ... [and] hope that the peace process moves ahead."

In a candid interview, Hariri was open in admitting he was not planning on venturing into politics at this stage in his life, however he felt the need to continue his father's legacy, "what my father wanted to achieve had not been achieved." Saad's older brother, Bahaa was initially expected to step up to the plate, however he decided to continue his career in business rather than delve into politics.

Sources: Washington Post, Ya Libnan