Pak Sahafat – Even though after the arrival of Saad Hariri in Beirut, there was hope among the Lebanese Sunnis for his return to power, but the evidence shows that this controversial figure of Lebanon is still trapped in the cage that the Saudis have drawn around him.
According to the International group of Pak Sahafat news agency, after the arrival of former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri in Beirut after a long absence and withdrawal from the world of politics, there are questions about whether Hariri will once again take action to influence the politics of this country in the turbulent market of Lebanon’s political crisis.
Last year, when Saad Hariri decided to suspend his political activity and boycotted the country’s May 2022 parliamentary elections, many concluded that he does not intend to be directly present in Lebanon’s political environment for a long time, but Saad Hariri’s trip to Beirut a few days ago, on the occasion of the anniversary of the assassination of his father Rafiq Hariri, the prime minister of Lebanon at the time, made some of his supporters, especially the Sunnis, hopeful that perhaps a ground for Hariri’s return to the Lebanese government would be provided in the midst of the country’s current political crisis.
Knowledgeable sources in this field told Al-Nashrah website that Saad Hariri is currently facing many personal problems and he is trying not to enter into small and already failed bets, at least in the current time frame. The meeting he had with some Lebanese personalities in the past days and the positions he adopted in this regard show that he has no intention of entering the presidential case or forming the Lebanese government.
The crisis that Saad Hariri has been caught in for a long time does not only include himself, but the Lebanese Sunnis who still consider Hariri as their leader have not been able to find a replacement for him, the efforts of “Baha Hariri” Saad’s older brother to fill his vacancy are also fruitful.
Informed sources reported to Al-Nashrah perhaps the only power card that Saad Hariri has now is that it has become somewhat impossible to find a replacement for him among the Sunni component and the Future Movement, and on the other hand, the efforts of other members of the March 14 movement such as Samir Geagea, the head of the Lebanese Forces Party, to taking Hariri’s place in this process has not been successful.
The aforementioned sources emphasized that until Saudi Arabia takes a clear position, Lebanese Sunnis will remain confused to choose a new leader or return Saad Hariri to power.
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Some political circles also believe that Saad Hariri intends to use the commemoration of the anniversary of the assassination of Rafiq Hariri, who had a deep connection with the Saudis, to soften Saudi positions against him. Michel Aoun, the former president of Lebanon, called Saad Hariri after his return to Beirut, and asked him to return to the world of politics. Despite the importance of Aoun’s request and the support that his affiliated team gives for Saad’s return to Lebanon’s political environment, for many reasons, the realization of this is far from expected.
The main and first obstacle to Saad Hariri’s return to power is the same factor that caused him to withdraw from the world of politics. It means Saudi Arabia. The evidence shows that Saad Hariri has become a burning nut for the Saudis since 2017 when he was taken hostage in Riyadh, so even if Saad Hariri himself has the will to return to the political atmosphere of Lebanon, Saudi Arabia not only does not support him but will also prevent him.
On the other hand, even if all conditions are provided for Saad Hariri’s return to power, the course of developments in Lebanon in these years has been such that there is no coordination between Hariri and other Lebanese politicians who are now in power, and the international parties will not accept him either.
Based on this, observers believe that although years have passed since the physical arrest of Saad Hariri in Saudi Arabia, he is still politically trapped in the Saudi prison.
It was at the end of January last year that Saad Hariri, in an unpredictable move, announced that he would suspend his political activities and would not participate in the elections. He also announced that no representative in the name of the future movement will appear in this election and asked all Lebanese, especially the Sunni component, to boycott the election, and this issue had a great impact on the deterioration of the position of the Sunnis and March 14th in the May 2022 Lebanese elections.
Indicators show that Hariri’s action, like his other political actions, cannot be separated from the ongoing challenges between him and the Saudis. On the one hand, Saad Hariri, despite his great efforts, could not get Saudi Arabia’s consent to support him, and for this reason, he felt that he could not continue his political activities under these conditions. Even some sources close to the Saudi embassy in Beirut believe that Hariri’s political life is in the hands of Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, and Saad Hariri will not have a place in politics until he wants.
The fact is that Saad Hariri’s major political challenges, especially after 2017, have been related to Saudi Arabia’s approach towards him. The abduction of Hariri in Riyadh by the Saudi government and his being forced to resign from the position of Prime Minister of Lebanon from Saudi Arabia was the beginning of a dark phase for Saad. The consequences of the bitter incident that happened to Saad Hariri in Saudi Arabia were clearly seen in his political performance in Lebanon and finally forced him to withdraw from the world of politics.
As the sources close to Saad Hariri say that his financial situation is very serious and he is trying to repay the debts of Saudi Arabia, at the present time Saad Hariri’s debts to one of the Saudi banks are more than his assets.