“The LF-FPM agreement has cheapened the presidential elections.” This was the first of many bullets fired by Former Lebanese Kataeb Leader Amine Gemayel towards the Declaration of Intent signed by former rivals the Lebanese Forces and the Free Patriotic Movement.
Gemayel succeeded in voicing what so many other officials and leaders failed to say as they felt supportive statements, even if not completely sincere, would do the trick.
Despite an ongoing alliance between the Lebanese Forces and the Kataeb as well as recurrent meetings, both parties will find it hard to deny the tensions standing between Saifi and Maarab.
The tensions were brought to the surface through several instances but mainly appeared when the LF representative was nowhere to be found at the Kataeb’s General Convention, despite hosts’ insistence that an invitation was sent out to LF Leader Samir Geagea via “Liban Post”.
LF sources confirmed however that the invitation never made it to Maarab.
On another hand, the surprising rapprochement between the Kataeb and Marada parties can only be viewed as an answer to whatever is being cooked up between the Lebanese Forces and the FPM.
The main indicator of the deteriorating LF-Kataeb ties was an article directly criticizing Geagea’s stances published on the Kataeb’s official website.
The article published without an author’s mark had newly elected leader Sami Gemayel’s stamp all over it after Geagea’s remarks regarding two main Christian powers, which a Kataeb insider deemed as a second “annihilation war” launched against the party itself and all other Christian officials.
Will the ties head towards the edge? Representatives from both parties deny such claims and the winner in all this is no other than the Free Patriotic Movement that will probably laugh all the way to the bank!
Adapted from an article originally written in Arabic by Dany Haddad
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