Politics in Lebanon is not unique in its practice, and there are of course in the far – and especially near – reaches of the world those who rival its politicians in mixing up notions, altering facts, reversing slogans, setting up deceptions and other similar “skills”. Nevertheless, leaderships of the Opposition in Lebanon deserve to enter the Guinness Book for breaking the record in the category of “repeated attempts at taking citizens for fools”, especially MP Michel Aoun, who is currently leading the charge against the position of Prime Minister and its powers, in the interest of parties that cannot be concealed from even the simplest minds. Aoun's problem is that most of the Lebanese know that his crisis with Hariri is connected in form to appointing his son-in-law who lost at the elections, Gebran Bassil, and in content to a regional trend that has aimed and continues, since the assassination of Rafic Hariri and to this day, to aim at punishing Lebanese Sunnis and twisting their arm because of their “disobedience”. Aoun waged the last legislative elections within he framework of the opposition coalition led by Hezbollah, his candidates obtained the votes of his Shiite ally's sectarian community, and many of them won thanks to these votes. Yet the Opposition as a whole lost the elections which produced a clear majority, so why does he consider himself to have won and is demanding his “rights” in terms of the number of ministers and of the portfolios allotted to them? And if Aoun was and continues to be a main party in the Opposition, then why is he assuming that the Prime Minister designate should treat him as if he was independent? And how can one account for Aoun's parliamentary coalition outside of the Opposition's coalition in Parliament? And if Hariri, in the framework of his legitimate efforts to form a national unity government, had agreed to reassure the Opposition by granting it the obstructing one-third of the cabinet, including one sovereign portfolio in exchange for a similar portfolio for the majority, how can he agree to the retired general's demands of a second sovereign portfolio for the Opposition, i.e. more than the share of the majority itself? We should ask Aoun, who is allied to the Velayat-e-Faqih party, how his allies would explain the Iranian method of rule to him, and justify Iranian President Ahmadinejad's failure to grant those who lost the elections (Mousavi obtained 13 million votes according to official numbers) the obstructing one-third in his new government, or even appoint any of them as minister. Why does Mehdi Karroubi, for instance, not obtain a sovereign portfolio such as the one Aoun is demanding? Why does not apply to Lebanon what is considered self-evident in Iran, whose regime is praised by all of the Opposition, and in fact in all other countries, i.e. that the majority rules and the Opposition opposes or recognizes its own size without eluding the ballot-boxes by speaking of the “popular majority”? Hariri has effectively offered all possible concessions without obtaining anything in return: the obstructing one-third, postponing any discussion on the issue of the weapons of the Resistance, and a promise to visit Syria. But the demands of members of the Opposition do not stop there, and every time he favors national reconciliation over portfolios, he finds himself confronted with new demands. Indeed, what more can he offer without canceling out the results of the elections, the share allotted to his Christian allies, and the reconciliatory role of the President of the Republic? Aoun's demands are only a façade behind which hides an unseen negotiator. As for the target, it is the Prime Minister's constitutional powers and seeking to reduce them, as well as the leadership and the unity of the Sunni community, which the elections have proven and which some consider to have “breached” crafted balances, and making sure that what will be issued by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon regarding the Hariri assassination will neither have consequences on the ground nor meet with state compliance to its requests, or else…
