“We neither seek it, nor do we strive for it.” This is what Beirut’s representative in Parliament, Tammam Salam, told me when I asked him about the accuracy of information about him possibly being the March 14 coalition’s candidate for prime minister during the binding parliamentary consultations scheduled to take place on April 5 and 6. But, for clarity’s sake, he added, “If the opportunity arose for us to serve the country, so be it.”
This would seem to mean that he is willing to succeed outgoing Prime Minister Najib Mikati. All that remains is for the March 14 coalition, of which he is a member, to secure the majority of Parliament members’ votes when they hold their binding consultations with President Michel Suleiman. In reality, for him to become prime minister, he would only need the votes of Walid Jumblatt's seven-member moderate bloc.
Why did Salam’s chances improve at the expense of all others? A partisan politician who participated in the leadership meeting of the opposition coalition at former Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s home, known as “Center House,” said that discussions centered on identifying a Sunni personality who could refrain from running for Parliament — to abide by the condition set by the opposition itself — and who could, at the same time, garner the support of Jumblatt, which would increase the likelihood of attaining the premiership.
Once Hariri made it clear that former Prime Minister Mikati was not an acceptable option, despite his being favored by Jumblatt, a set of different names was proposed, most of which were later ruled out. Former minister and head of Lebanon’s economic committees, Adnan Kassar, for example, is too old. The Future Movement is not very enthusiastic about naming him, probably because he does not have close ties with the movement, or because he was a minister in Omar Karami’s Cabinet when former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri was assassinated on March 14, 2005. He also refused to resign when asked to do so, only to leave office when Karami himself resigned as a result of popular, political and media pressure.
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