Rival Lebanese leaders were in last-ditch efforts to find a compromise candidate for the presidency Thursday with no sign of a solution a day ahead of a constitutional deadline, leaving Lebanese despairing and fearful of turmoil, according to AP. Parliament is scheduled to convene at 1 p.m. (1100 GMT) Friday to pick a successor for President Emile Lahoud _ only 11 hours before his term ends. Three previous attempts failed because of disagreements between the country's feuding politicians over a replacement. Failure to elect a new president on time could lead to a power vacuum, or two rival governments, much like during the last two years of the 1975-90 civil war. As the country marked its Independence Day holiday Thursday, a mood of pessimism settled over the Lebanese, as efforts to find some sort of agreement appeared to evaporate. «The last day before zero-hour: A miracle or power vacuum,» read the headline of Lebanon's leading An-Nahar daily. Italian Foreign minister Massimo D'Alema also arrived Thursday to join Moratinos and Kouchner, who has been in Lebanon since Monday. The three European countries are the top contributors to the 13,600-strong U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon. The choice of president has been deadlocked amid a power struggle between the government of Prime Minister Fuad Saniora and the opposition, led by the Hezbollah.
