DAILY SCOPE: March 14 ’Investing’ Municipal Elections, Geagea Absent from the Hariri Assassination Anniversary
Local Editor
NEWSPAPER HEADLINES:
AS-SAFIR:
Shorter to As-Safir: Time for Election, If the Lebanese Wanted a President They Would Have Had One
AN-NAHAR:
Political Decision on Budget to Avoid Taxes
AL-AKHBAR:
H1N1 Collective Hysteria
Berri: Saudi-Iranian Antidote of Presidential Impasse
AL-BINAA:
Lavrov: Syria Open to All Possibilities, Fabius Resigns...Aleppo Says the Decisive Word
AD-DIYAR:
Russia Changes Military Balance in Syria
Lebanon and its deteriorating economy -which has been badly affected by the presidential impasse and the almost paralyzed cabinet since the presidential void in 2014, the drop in the treasury income, the terrible financial deficit and the municipal elections, are all issues that have been making the headlines of Lebanese newspapers during the past week.
On Thursday, newspapers touched on the different domestic files, paying attention to the municipal elections which reflect the weak presence of the Future party in the Bekaa area and its numerous attempts to blackmail the people: We present offers and in return you are to elect March 14 candidates to fill the municipal posts in the area.
Also, with preparations for the March 14 major annual event [the anniversary of former PM Rafiq Hariri's assassination], the head Lebanese Forces Samir Geagea, the strongest Future Party ally will not attend the ceremony, in sign of an ongoing rift between the two sides.
Newspapers also discussed several regional topics including the Syria war, Geneva talks and the Yemen war.
AL-AKHAR-March 14 "Investing" Municipal Elections: Services in Return for Votes
Lebanon's Bekaa area has suddenly become a source of attention to the March 14 camp, after icy relations between the political camp and the people of the Western area which has witnessed major negligence on the different levels. Yet, according to sources, and owing to the municipal elections that are destined to take place in May, the Future party and its allies of the March 14 camp have set their eyes on the Bekaa area, in an attempt to "break the ice and stimulate organizers, and find some political mobilization in the stagnant popular presence in the region."
Even though no one in the country is convinced that the municipal elections will actually take place on time, yet, al-Akhbar newspaper said in an article on Thursday that the Future party is "seizing" the opportunity especially after the drop in its popularity among the people of the Bekaa area since 2009.
Scandals, some of which the newspaper reported, started to surface on the matter. According to al-Akhbar, for instance, when the winter storm hit Lebanon ten days ago, Minister Abdul Rahim Morad had to hire a private team to rescue the people of the mountainous areas from getting trapped in snow, by that exposing the frail presence of the Future party and its social institutions and services in the region.
Another scandal was the evident negligence of the Future party MP Ziyad Qaderi to the people of the area and its political factions and figures, as he organized his wedding in one of Beirut Hotels, where none of them were invited.
Also, in the Bekaa's Majdal Anjar town, where the Future party enjoys evident presence and popularity, the newspaper said that there was a strong "backlash" against Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq and the Future party's coordinator in the Beqaa area Ayoub Qazoun. The tow, according to the paper, tried to bargain with the people there on setting up a garbage landfill in the Masnaa area, only if they elect Future Party's Sami al-Ajami as head of their municipality.
Meanwhile, in Qob Elias town, a fierce electoral battle is to take place, which according to the source will reveal the weakness of the Future party and its ineffective presence in the area.
AL-JOMHOURIA-Geagea Will Not Attend Future Party's Annual Ceremony
As preparations in BIEL are ongoing for ceremony to commemorate the assassination of the former PM Rafiq Hariri, well-informed sources directly engaged in the preparations told al-Jomhouria newspaper that head of the Lebanese Forces MP Samir Geagea, the supposedly staunch ally of the Future Party will not attend the ceremony.
The sources claimed that the reason behind his abstention from attending the most important event held annually by the Future party is "the current security conditions."
Media outlets reported a row between the Lebanese Forces and the Future party, two key elements in the March 14 alliance, over the Future Party's nomination of head of the Marada party Suleiman Franjieh for presidency as well as over the participation in the government.
Also, a war of words between Lebanese Forces and Future Movement supporters erupted during the first week of December on social media, after former Prime Minister Saad Hariri voiced support for MP Suleiman Franjieh's presidential bid.
AL-AKHBAR-Al-Jaafari Briefs Lebanese Officials on the Geneva Meetings
Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdel Karim hosted guests on Tuesday, including the Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Mohammad Fathali and his Russian counterpart Alexander Zasipkin as well as head of the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc MP Mohammad Raad, Finance Minister Ali Khalil, Head of the Syrian National Socialist Party Assad Hardan and MP Walid Sukariyeh.
According to al-Akhbar newspaper, Abdel Karm hosted the guests along with the current Permanent Representative of the Syrian Arab Republic to the United Nations, Bashar al-Jaafari who came to Lebanon directly from New York, where the Geneva meetings were to take place.
The paper noted that al-Jaafari informed the politicians "of the atmosphere at the Geneva meetings."
During a televised interview late on Tuesday, al-Jaafari explained clearly that the official spokesman for the delegation of the so-called "Riyadh group" announced, upon their arrival in Geneva and even before reaching the hotel, that they were going to walk away from the talks by Thursday if what he called "the regime" in Syria didn't meet their preconditions.
Source: al-Ahed news
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