The Guardians of the Cedars Party issued the following weekly communiqué:

It is a tradition before the presidential election in Lebanon to select a consensus candidate over which the opposing political leaderships agree internally, followed by the approval of the foreign capitals with a say in the matter. This rule always applied except under the Syrian tutelage which imposed on Lebanon two “Presidents” affiliated with it and who were the worst Presidents in the country’s history. Each of these two Presidents saw their terms extended by an additional half-term in order for Syria to fuse the Lebanese entity into the Syrian entity and thus achieve its long-standing dream.

Today, as we stand on the threshold of another presidential election, there is renewed talk about a consensus president that will earn the approval of the local, regional and international players, regardless of the opinion of the Lebanese people about him and whether his qualifications embody the highest national interest and match this crucial phase of Lebanon’s history which is perhaps the last opportunity to save the country from disappearing from the political map.

The talk is about an ordinary President for an extraordinary crisis. Someone who does not bother anyone and whose politics are a shade of grey. Someone who is tasteless and odorless, a President who merely fills a constitutional vacuum and manages the crisis for some several more years to come. Someone who adopts half solutions and postpones the hot files, someone who dodges but does not confront, someone who goes loitering at the doorsteps of capitals begging for support and aid, someone who starts out strong and ends up a failure in fulfillment of the saying that the fastest way to failure is to try and please everyone.

Yet, the Lebanese people are looking for an extraordinary President with exceptional qualifications and who fills the pernicious political vacuum that prevails throughout the country. Someone who undertakes to solve the accumulating crises and not postpone them. Someone who knocks at the doors of the capitals with strength and not with meekness. Someone who starts out strong and ends up strong, unlike the current pattern.

They – the others – are looking for a President who solves the presidential election headache, while the people are looking for a President who solves the crisis of the country. They are looking for a President of the traditional cast who follows in the footsteps of his predecessors and regurgitates their stale verbiage, while the people are looking for a President with the mettle of a Fakhreddine who will bring back to Lebanon its wounded pride and its lost glory…

But to whom are you singing your psalms, oh King David? And who is listening to the voice of the people? And who cares for their dreams and aspirations? That is the real problem of Lebanon!

Lebanon, at your service
Abu Arz
August 17, 2007