BEIRUT: Hezbollah and its allies will not exclude any political party if its candidate for prime minister wins a parliamentary majority in talks starting Monday, the group's chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said Sunday. “To dispel any illusions ... we in the opposition will look for a partnership government if (our) candidate wins the parliamentarian majority. We do not call for a government from one side and for excluding any political party,” Nasrallah said. Lebanon was plunged into crisis earlier this month after Hezbollah and its allies brought down the government of Prime Minister Saad Hariri in a dispute over confidential indictments by a UN-backed tribunal investigating the 2005 killing of statesman Rafiq Hariri, Saad's father. Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, once a staunch supporter of Hariri, said Friday he will back Hezbollah, giving the Shiite group and its allies, who have 57 seats in parliament, a likely majority to endorse a Sunni politician of their choice to form a new government. It was not clear if Hariri and his allies would accept to be part of Hezbollah-led government. Lebanese officials said that Omar Karami was the group's candidate for the job but Nasrallah said that Karami had asked them to look for another. Meanwhile, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit warned Lebanon was in a “dangerous situation” as fears of violence rise in the crisis-hit country. “Lebanon is in a dangerous situation,” Abul Gheit said in an interview with local radio. “Sunni Muslims have rights in Lebanon which they must protect,” he added in response to a question.
