Will National Dialogue Expansion Trigger Another Crisis?

Three days ahead of the "re-vivification" of the Lebanese national dialogue scheduled on Wednesday, the "dialogue expansion" doesn't seem "settled" yet amid fears that it might be the "project" of another "crisis" that could lead even to the "deterioration" of the complete dialogue table...

Indeed, while the so-called March 14 bloc was "rejecting" the mere discussion of the idea despite the calls from here and there, Lebanese President Michel Suleiman raised the issue when he declared that he backs a "short and limited expansion," setting, however, the "consensus" of the fourteen dialogue members as a "condition".

Suleiman's declaration brought hopes back for many of Lebanese prominent figures who believe they have the right to be represented in such dialogue table, such as former Prime Minister Omar Karami, Youth Minister Talal Arslan, former minister Suleiman Franjieh, MP Oussama Saad and others.

However, some of the "March 14" forces seem to have closed early the door before those figures to think of joining them in the next dialogue sessions. In this context, Future Movement MP Saad Hariri declared Friday that he was completely against the expansion of the dialogue roundtable. On Sunday, he renewed his expansion rejection, telling reporters after meeting Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri that there was "no need" to expand the dialogue roundtable.

But Prime Minister Fouad Saniora, who rejected the idea many times, didn't seem so determined this time. Speaking to reporters following his meeting with President Michel Suleiman on Saturday, Saniora claimed that the enlargement of the national dialogue table would be discussed among the participants and the results would not necessarily be directly revealed. "Hopefully, we will reach a result," he said.

The opposition, on the other hand, seems to be resolved on the expansion as the means to assure all political figures that they have their word in discussion national issues such as the country's defensive strategy.

Indeed, Minister Talal Arslan reiterated on Sunday that the dialogue roundtable, in its actual form, was deficient, refusing to respond to MP Hariri. Speaking before a popular delegation at his residence in Khaldeh on Sunday, Arslan said that President Michel Suleiman was the only person who had the right to determine the number of the participants in the national dialogue.

For its part, Hezbollah reiterated its serious call to expand the dialogue roundtable in order to pave the way for all political factions to be represented in the national discussions. "We are serious in our demand to broaden participation in the national dialogue and we are not maneuvering," Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem highlighted, explaining that such expansion would be in the interest of the dialogue's success.

In all cases, the final answer concerning the national dialogue expansion is not expected before Wednesday's session. According to reports, the President would raise the issue and the interlocutors would take their decision. And until that moment, mutual "wars" would emerge between rival factions over this topic.