Hezbollah's pick for president of Lebanon
It seems Hezbollah is not giving up on Christian parliament member Michel Aoun’s candidacy for the Lebanese presidential elections, especially since Aoun now has the support of another major Christian leader in Lebanon, Samir Geagea.
For Hezbollah to choose between Lebanese presidential candidates Michel Aoun and Suleiman Franjieh is like choosing between sweet and sweeter, but the choice itself is bitter.
Both Christian parliament members are close allies of the Islamist movement and fully supportive of all the controversial decisions the group has made in the past few years. Aoun, leader of the Free Patriotic Movement, and Franjieh, head of the Marada Movement, both had been in the Change and Reform parliamentary bloc until the latest standoff over the presidency began in November. Future Movement leader Saad Hariri stirred the pot by nominating Franjieh for presidency after they met secretly Nov. 17 in Paris.
Franjieh is a close friend of both Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah — Saudi Arabia’s main rival in Lebanon. Saudi Arabia opposes the Assad regime.
At the same time Hariri was nominating Franjieh, Hariri’s ally Samir Geagea, head of the Lebanese Forces party, nominated Franjieh’s associate Aoun, a former Lebanese army commander and also a Hezbollah supporter.
