Mikati hopes for bloc of independent MPs after polls
Lebanese parliamentary elections in June should produce a bloc of independents that will help ease political divisions between pro- and anti-Syrian alliances, former Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Tuesday. Seen as a candidate for prime minister after the vote, Mikati also said Lebanon must build on the stability it is enjoying thanks to a thaw in ties between Arab states whose rivalries have fueled the country”s conflict.
"If we do not benefit from the Arab situation … and build and support the Lebanese state, we will be threatened by another storm," Mikati, a billionaire businessman, told Reuters.
Lebanon”s stability has been the main beneficiary of a thaw in ties between neighboring Syria and Saudi Arabia, Lebanese politicians say. Relations between Riyadh and Damascus were strained after the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, seen as a symbol of Saudi influence in Lebanon.
Syria, which dominated Lebanon after the 1975-90 Civil War, denied accusations it orchestrated Hariri”s killing.
"The Lebanese situation is like a chest which can only be opened with two secret numbers: the Syrian number and the Saudi number. I believe that today these two numbers have met and I hope this will reflect well on Lebanon," Mikati said.
"This is what we are seeing today with the calm in Lebanon."
Mikati, 54, was prime minister for three months in 2005, after the resignation of Prime Minister Omar Karami, who was forced to quit by public outrage over the Hariri killing.
Mikati”s Cabinet oversaw the election which produced a majority for the anti-Syrian "March 14" alliance, led by MP Saad Hariri, Rafik Hariri”s son. The election brought Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, a close Hariri ally, to office.
March 14 hopes to defend its slim majority from a rival alliance which includes Hizbullah, a Shiite political and military group backed by Syria and Iran. The alliances will field rival lists for the 128 seats in Parliament, where representation is split along sectarian lines.
Mikati plans to run candidates on an electoral list with Hariri”s Future Movement in predominantly Sunni Muslim northern Lebanon. But Mikati, who comes from the northern city of Tripoli, describes himself as an independent.
"My hope is that there will be a bloc of independents that can take up a position between the two [alliances]. This is what I hope so that we can get out of the polarization that we have lived for the past four years," he said.
Other independents include Greek Orthodox politician Michel Murr, who will run candidates on a list with March 14 factions but is not part of the anti-Syrian alliance.
Mikati said he was "proud" of his ties with Saudi Arabia. He also enjoys good links with Syrian President Bashar Assad.
"Relations with Syria are the relations of a neighbor and we have a saying in Lebanon, “Your neighbor comes before your own home.” We have to improve our dealings with Syria," he said.
Asked if he would be ready to become prime minister, Mikati said he would wait to see the shape of the new Parliament. "I am not in a hurry, but I will not shy away from assuming the responsibility if I find that the elements of success exist."