Democratic Gathering bloc decides to back Azour for presidency

Al Anbaa website of the Progressive Socialist Party ( PSP) made the following announcement :

” The Democratic Gathering parliamentary bloc held its meeting in the presence of former the head of the Progressive Socialist Party, Walid Jumblatt, and the head of Democratic Gathering bloc MP Taymour Jumblatt, and in the presence of MPs Marwan Hamadeh, Akram Chehayeb, Hadi Abu al-Hassan, Wael Abu Faour, Faisal al-Sayegh, Raji al-Saad , former MP Ghazi Aridi, and the Secretary General of the Progressive Party Socialist Zafer Nasser and the advisor to MP Jumblatt, Hossam Harb.

“After the meeting, the bloc confirmed its support for the candidacy of the former minister, Jihad Azour, for the presidential elections, as the head of the Progressive Socialist Party, Walid Jumblatt, was the first to put forward his name in a basket of names that he presented to the various political parties on the basis of consensus and away from the logic of challenge, noting that Azour’s support does not I mean, in any case any new alignment, but rather we were the first to initiate it before it was adopted by any other party.“

“As the bloc reaffirms its commitment to dialogue in order to reach the desired consensus, it is surprising that Azour is being considered confrontational The bloc calls on all forces to adhere to the logic of real dialogue in order to complete the presidential elections as soon as possible, stressing that the achievement of this elections remains the main entrance to rebuilding institutions and embarking on the reform and rescue process at various levels.

This announcement spells the end of the speculation about Jumblatt’s position regarding Azour’s candidacy . There were concerns that Walid Jumblatt may side with Franjieh because of his close ties with Speaker Nabih Berri who was the first to nominate Suleiman Franjieh.

But Jumblatt maintained his original position of labeling Franjieh and former opposition candidate Michel Moawad as confrontational . Moawad has since dropped out of the race in favor of Azour whom the opposition considers a consensus candidate since he is not aligned with any political party , while Franjieh remained in the race .

The move by the Democratic Gathering parliamentary bloc should guarantee the election of Azour, provided a Quorum is met on June 14 .

According to analysts who are closely familiar with the position of the Christian, Sunni and Druze communities , If Speaker Berri and Hezbollah renege on their promise ( of going to the parliament to vote for Franjieh) , there may never be an election and this could spell the end of Lebanon’s system of government as we know it today and could lead to very serious calls for the adoption of a government system like the Swiss model of cantons , where each Canton or( Qathaa ) will be self ruled and and all the cantons will form a federation that will bind the whole country together . This way if Hezbollah wants to remain armed , it will do so within its cantons only .

Hezbollah is no longer the mini state inside the state of Lebanon , it has become the state .

What happened today at the airport with the Kuwaiti journalist is a good example of how Hezbollah has taken over the country and Lebanon as a state became powerless