Drama in Lebanon: Jumblatt quits anti-Syrian camp
Druze leader rocks political arena by announcing his departure from Western-backed 'March 14' alliance; still unclear how development will influence government-building efforts
Druze leader in Lebanon Walid Jumblatt is expected to visit Syria within the next two days, local media reported Monday.
On Sunday Jumblatt rocked the Lebanese political arena when he officially announced his departure from the anti-Syrian camp headed by Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri.
The Druze leader contemplated a defection from the US and Saudi-backed "March 14" coalition on the eve of the elections in June, and even ordered some of his supporters in south Lebanon to vote for the powerful Iran- and Syria-backed Hezbollah and its allies. However, the fact that he chose to quit the anti-Syrian camp after it had won a solid majority in parliament surprised many.
Jumblatt, leader of the Progressive Socialist Party, told a press conference on Sunday “our alliance with March 14 forces was driven by necessity and must not continue,” and promised “to rethink a new formation that would provide a way out of bias and prevent being pulled toward the (political) Right.”
It is still unclear how Jumblatt's decision will affect the efforts to establish a new government in Lebanon or whether his political partnership with Hariri has ended.
Just a few days ago Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said and agreement had been reached over the shape of Lebanon's next government.
Hariri aims to form a coalition cabinet which includes his "March 14" alliance with a rival coalition including Hezbollah and its allies.
Berri said only "technical issues" remained, such as distributing ministerial portfolios and assigning ministers to them, a process which should be completed in the next few days.
"The political process that is related to forming the government ... it can be confirmed that it has been completed," Berri told reporters after meeting President Michel Suleiman.
The main sticking point had been the opposition's demand for 11 ministers in the cabinet, giving them veto power.
A senior politician told Reuters on Tuesday there was agreement on dividing seats in a new 30-minister government in a way that would give neither Hariri's alliance an absolute majority nor Hezbollah and its allies veto power.
In May, fierce fighting broke out between Hezbollah militants and Jumblatt supporters in the Shouf Mountains overlooking Beirut after the Druze leader made some harsh comments against the Shiite group. Since then Jumblatt seems to have softened his rhetoric.
The reports of Jumblatt's upcoming visit to Syria, which assassinated his father Kamal in 1977 - have yet to be confirmed by the Druze leader himself.
In the past Jumblatt called the late Syrian president Hafez Assad a "cultural criminal" and said his son Bashar, the current president, was "the head of a mafia, not a regime."
Reuters contributed to the report
