Carole Salloum, "Akhbar al-Yawm" agency

Mahfoud submitted the proposal

Local initiatives, to address the crisis in the country, are starting from the patriarchal edifice.

Yesterday, the "Movement for Change" headed by lawyer Elie Mahfoud submitted a proposal based on: Bkerki initiative on behalf of the Maronite Patriarch Mar Beshara al-Rahi to a dialogue to which Speaker of the House of Representatives Nabih Berri is invited. This initiative aims to move the presidential entitlement file.

Opposition sources tell the "Akhbar al-Yawm" agency that any endeavor aimed at advancing the presidential file is welcome, as the Patriarchate had been reticent to sponsor a dialogue doomed to failure, knowing that the edifice played a role in bringing distances closer and hosted meetings bearing the character of convergence.

The sources expressed their belief that this initiative is recent and will be discussed with Patriarch al-Rahi, especially since the proposal, according to the initiator, includes a round table, and when it is officially put forward, the opposition as United forces will provide its answer.

The problem lies in the insistence of the Shiite duo on a dialogue chaired only by Speaker of the House of Representatives Nabih Berri, and therefore this proposal may be useless, as for the opposition, the road map is still the basis for completing the presidential entitlement and it adheres to it because it is the most appropriate solution.

For its part, informed political sources point out that the issue is related to the failure of the Maronite Patriarchate to bear any responsibility in focusing on its conciliatory effort, and say that there is an insistence from the powers to show Bkerki as an incubator for everyone.