Jumblatt admits that his recent stance is not popular

MP Walid Jumblatt admitted during an interview with AFP at his mansion in Mukhtara , Shouf that his recent political stance is not popular within his own constituency but he is willing to sacrifice everything for the sake of maintaining civil peace, regardless of whether his decision is popular or not.

“One must at times swim against the current.” He said

Jumblatt said his visit to Syria is 75 % certain and that the Secretary General of “Hezbollah” Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is working to pave the way for his visit the Syrian capital.

Jumblatt refused to reveal whether Damascus would establish more conditions for his planned visit.

Asked whether he would apologize to Syria in the event he goes there Jumblatt said : “Everything in its time,” and added “I will answer this question when the time is right

Jumblatt who said in the interview that he is a centrist and no longer with March 14 majority contradicted the statement made today by MP Marwan Hamade , a key member of Jumblatt’s Democratic Gathering bloc . Hamade , during an interview with Voice of Lebanon said that their bloc “belongs to the majority”. He added : “The majority may be facing problems but the opposition is worse off. ”

Jumblatt who inherited the leadership of the Progressive Socialist party (PSP) from his father following his assassination in 1977 confirmed that he was grooming his eldest son, Taymour, to take over the leadership of the PSP . In 2005 Jumblatt accused Syrian secret service agents of responsibility for his father’s murder

He said once out of politics, he hoped to purchase a home in France’s Normandy region or at a fjord in Norway and write his memoirs.