Lebanon's parliament again delayed its presidential vote, however, the presidential candidate Gen Michel Suleiman remains in strong contention, writes Rasha Saad In the London-based Asharq Al-Awsat Tareq Al-Homayed supported the candidacy of Gen Michel Suleiman as the new president of Lebanon. In "Lebanon: army commander and president" Al-Homayed wrote that Suleiman is Christian, patriotic and fair as viewed by Lebanese parties after he was able to restore the army's authority as the protector of security by keeping his distance from all Lebanese factions. Likewise, Suleiman distanced the army from what he called the "political bazaar". Al-Homayed said the Lebanese army endured the crisis of the 2006 summer war with Israel and managed to preserve its image unshaken. After that, the army experienced the Nahr Al-Bared crisis, "which began and ended without there being a convincing reason for the problem apart from an attempt to drag Lebanon into the grips of civil war which would have targeted the state and its structural make-up. "In short, there was no position taken by the army that went against public opinion; in fact, the army emerged as the protector of the state and of its structural composition. "Selecting Suleiman as the president of Lebanon will deny the opportunity to extend this presidential vacuum to those who have interests in maintaining the status quo. Also, thus far, the personality and positions of the commander of the national army have been agreed upon by all and the Lebanese parties." In the Lebanese daily An-Nahar, Ghassan Tweini wrote, "it depends on the personality of the president if he is to prevent a civil war as is aspired by the Lebanese." In the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper, Ghassan Charbel wrote that following the election of a president, his first mission will have to be the launching of rehabilitation. "Gen Michel Suleiman is aware that the presidential palace needs restoration, especially as it has become customary for important guests to avoid visiting it. It needs a workshop to return the palace to its place as the location of national unity." In his article "Rehabilitation" Cherbel wrote that other political aspects are in need of recovery. He pointed out that the new prime minister is equally in demand to launch a similar project. "He must turn the Grand Palace into a headquarters rather than a fortress. He has to engage himself with the affairs of the Lebanese." As for the government, Cherbel wrote, "there is no harm for the government to preoccupy itself with the livelihood of the people and with projects and development." Cherbel wrote that parliament, too, needs reforming. "It has been a long time since the convening of its last session, with many of its members devoting themselves to petty media wars instead of legislation. "Nabih Berri's mission will not be an easy one. Pulling some parliament members away from TV screens will require an extraordinary effort," Cherbel wrote. In Al-Hayat, Abdullah Iskandar wrote that external developments have shown that nobody currently wants matters in Lebanon to reach the point of no return. Iskandar wrote that it also appeared that the presidential vacuum in Lebanon had achieved its purpose: to push international and Arab efforts into preventing its continuation. "It is no longer in the interest of regional parties for Lebanon to remain without a president, in particular Syria, which cannot host March's first Arab summit to be held in Damascus without it being attended by the president of Lebanon and with him, the head of his government." In "Lebanon: an opportunity for a permanent settlement" Iskandar wrote that an agreement of interests and circumstances launched the presidential settlement in Lebanon, and it remains for the Lebanese powers and Syria to make this settlement capable of lasting. Iskandar hailed Suleiman on his stand concerning relations between Lebanon and Syria. "As for the relationship with Syria, nobody doubts the experience of Gen Suleiman in this matter." Iskandar cited the General's ability to distinguish between what is a Lebanese concern and what is a joint Lebanese-Syrian concern which, according to Iskandar, enables this relationship to start from a positive basis and which must be consolidated. In this regard, Iskandar advises, "the majority must re-examine the hostile slogans that are sometimes raised against Syria, to keep up with the positive position from which the president is starting." At the same time, Iskandar advised Damascus to look positively at what the national dialogue arrived at with regards to diplomatic relations and drawing borders. "The retreat that is demanded from the majority, which adopted a strategy that was politically opposed to Syria, must be met by Damascus with guarantees of official recognition of the sovereignty of Lebanon," Iskandar concludes. Also in Al-Hayat, Zuheir Kseibati wondered about the stance of the opposition following the election of the new president. Kseibati asked if we can expect the opposition to hang up its slogans, just like it will fold its tents in downtown Beirut, simply because a regional and international consensus has obliged it to accommodate itself with the requirements of a cooling-off period in the region, and with the interests of external parties consecrating their diversity in Lebanon. "Does the opposition have the power to co- exist with two contraries: the Syrian-French opening and the French-Iranian crisis, which is pushing Tehran to link the facilitation of installing the new Lebanese president to a halt to Paris's rush to stop Iran's enrichment of uranium?" asked Kseibati. "After the election of the president there will be a new map of alliances drawn up, and new battles over the government and its ministerial statement, appointments, and perhaps the fate of Israel and the resistance," Kseibati concludes.
