Source: almanar.com.lb, 15-6-2009

The head of the Loyalty to the Resistance parliamentarry bloc MP Mohammad Raad said on Monday that the Lebanese national opposition wants "true partnership" in the new government, hinting that such partnership's level might exceed the guaranteeing third, stressing that the opposition wouldn't accept to be represented in the cabinet as "folklore."

Speaking to Kuwaiti daily Al-Anbaa, Raad said that a meeting between Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and the head of the Future Movement MP Saad Hariri is unlikely to happen in the near future. "There are no open lines yet between the loyalty and the opposition," Raad pointed out.

However, the Hizbullah MP said that communication channels have been open between the head of the Democratic Gathering MP Walid Jumblatt and Hizbullah since before the June 7 parliamentary elections. He hailed Jumblatt's stances as positive, saying that they pave the way for other moves that would strengthen the openness between the two sides.

Raad, meanwhile, expressed belief that there are more than one tone and rhetoric within the March 14 bloc. He said that, for instance, he can't understand how the logic of Maarab (in reference to the Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea) can get together with the logic of Quoraitem (in reference to the head of the Future MP Saad Hariri).

The head of the Loyalty to the Resistance bloc said that the opposition acknowledges the results of the parliamentary elections and deals realistically with the situation. He pointed out that the head of the Change and Reform parliamentary bloc MP Michel Aoun was subject to an "international war" through the elections but, yet, remained victorious.

Raad also said that the Zahle district was the weakest in the elections due to "the external votes, biased distribution of the heads of the polling stations and the unbelievable amount of electoral money spent in the district." According to Raad, the loyalty spent $2 billion on its electoral campaign.