Hariri, Berri discuss Lebanon presidential list

Lebanon’s presidential standoff entered a decisive week, with parliament speaker Nabih Berri, a leading member of the opposition, and majority leader Saad al-Hariri meeting late Saturday and foreign diplomats converging on Beirut to push for a way out to avoid chaos.

Berri hosted Hariri for their first meeting after the head of the Maronite church had given both a list of presidential candidates.

A statement from Hariri’s office described the meeting as “positive and constructive”, adding another meeting will follow before the coming parliamentary session set for Wednesday November 21.

Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema told reporters late Saturday that rival Lebanese leaders say they can agree on a new president but "everything could still go wrong".

D'Alema said talks to reach a deal before Nov. 21 had hit a stumbling block because of Christian leader Michel Aoun's insistence he should fill the post.

Both sides uniting behind a candidate to replace President
Emile Lahoud, a close ally of Syria whose term ends on Nov. 23, is regarded as vital to defusing a political crisis in Lebanon.

"The negotiations are hitting a particularly difficult point because there is a player who says 'I am the candidate'. This is clearly a problem," D'Alema told Italian reporters during a visit to Beirut, referring to Aoun.

"He thinks he is the candidate who can unite the country but, as an observer, it doesn't seem likely to me."

Cautious optimism

Observers and analysts fear the pro-Western ruling coalition and the Syrian-backed opposition may miss a final November 23 deadline to elect a new president, plunging the country into chaos.

There is also concern that the dispute could lead to two rival governments, echoing the final years of Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war when two competing administrations battled for control.

"We need a miracle because the political leaders are so far apart, it is hard to imagine that they would agree on something," Ousama Safa, head of the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies, told AFP.

"But even if they elect a new president, the paralysis will continue because there will still be the issue of the make-up of the new government," he said.

The crisis has three times forced the postponement of a parliament session to elect successor to pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud, and there are fears that the last-ditch vote on November 21 could meet the same fate.

"I have been told by Berri and Hariri that it is possible to find an agreement on one of the personalities on the list, even though I am not sure they are thinking of the same person," D'Alema said.

"The ingredients of a deal are there but then everything could still go wrong."

Lebanese political sources say the list includes Aoun -- the opposition's declared candidate -- and two figures supported by the governing coalition.

But the consensus figure is expected to be one of three moderate candidates named by Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir.

They are parliamentarian Robert Ghanem, former central bank governor Michel Khoury and former minister Michel Edde.

"My impression is that the consensus solution can be found,"
Massimo D'Alema said.

The candidate will be Lebanon's first new president since
Syria pulled its troops out of Lebanon in 2005.