Berri-Aoun Relations Going Back on Track
Ties between Speaker Nabih Berri and Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun that deteriorated over the Electricite du Liban’s contract workers row are slowly getting back on track, a ministerial source said Thursday.
The source said a positive sign emerged on Wednesday when MP Simon Abi Ramia, who is a member of Aoun’s Change and Reform bloc, attended the meeting of the parliament’s secretariat and the head of legislative committees headed by Berri.
“Contacts aimed at bridging their differences have made a great leap forward,” the source told al-Liwaa newspaper.
Relations between Berri and Aoun worsened when the FPM accused the speaker of violating the protocol during the voting process on a bill that would allow EDL contract workers to become full-timers.
Christian blocs, including the Change and Reform, boycotted the parliament arguing that the permanent employment of those workers would destabilize the sectarian balance at EDL as around 80 percent of them belong to non-Christian sects and most of them support Berri, who is a Shiite.
The FPM also accused Hizbullah of being a “spectator” rather than rushing to the defense of its ally.
Lawmakers quoted Berri as saying during Wednesday’s meeting that the Lebanese should resort to dialogue and confront the negative repercussions of the developments in the region.
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