MP Michel Murr, a key member of Aoun's reform and Change Parliamentary alliance, has called today for a meeting of the alliance, and warned that "if the meeting will not take place, I will resign today from the alliance."General Aoun responded, "we are not going to call for a meeting of the alliance." If Murr meant what he said, this spells a divorce between him and Aoun.
Murr said "I will return to my own base in the Metn region and will be completely independent. After all I have been independent for 30 years."
Murr has been very critical of Aoun's role in blocking the election of a president. Murr has insisted on several occasions that Lebanon should have a president before the summit in Damascus.
The news today did no not come as a complete surprise. Many political analysts in Lebanon saw this coming. Murr said he and Aoun will remain friends.
The summit is scheduled for March 29-30, and the election of a president, which was postponed sixteen times, is now scheduled for March 25th. Murr does not expect the presidential election to take place as scheduled, and said he is against the representation of Lebanon by Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. He added, "only a Christian Maronite president should be representing Lebanon at the summit."