Siniora and Hariri: a family related conflict or conflicting interests!

Islam Times: This began to drift inside the Future Movement after the retirement of many of the cadres, who were known for their belonging originally to the founding father, in light of the absence of the Son from the general direction, which was supposed to be found, after the death of the founder of the Movement Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

The one who knows the internal issues of “the Future Movement” says that many of the cadres feel that Siniora would sell the pass, upon which he agreed with his comrade Harir the father, if the positions and directions during the ear of President Saad were not at the level required of Prime Minister Siniora.

Some consider that Siniora has dropped Hariri the Son in the maze, which he could have avoided, what made him stay away from the political life and he is not expected to return to it as a result of many positions that are not corresponding to the international guidelines. At that time, those guidelines required positions that were opposed by Siniora behind-the-scenes and were carried out by Hariri in public, for he believed that Siniora is the spiritual father and the representative of the family and that he is the most capable and knowledgeable when he started his political life.

Thus, the followers of the course of the political life of Siniora say that he worked very hard to make his intellectual movement dominate that of Harir after dumping Saad in the furnace of the fiery sharp speeches, which he could have also avoided, if he was along the lines of the outcome of his first visit to Syria i.e. the atmosphere of openness, reconciliation, and honesty. In fact, Siniora worked a lot on jamming all the political and practical results after he was excluded from the visit and he believed that his position within the Hariri family will facilitate a lot of things to him. He considered that he is the most important personality that should accompany Hariri, but he was disappointed and that is why he recouped the path of the predecessor and abhorred the successor after he gave the “trust” (the government) back to Sheikh Saad.

Siniora, was working as an accountant and a treasurer of President Hariri the Father, and his personal business manager.
He used to have a “functional” personality during the period of “assuming” the rank of Minister of Finance in the six governments formed by Prime Minister Rafik Hariri (1992-2004).

He did not exceed, never, his executive role of the economic Hariri related “vision”, or what is called by former Minister George Carm “the Harirism i.e. the Lebanese version of neo-liberalism”. Therefore, Siniora- the Minister- retained much of the common qualities among the accounting workers i.e. being relaxed, confidential, economical, and standing alone.
The relationship between the two men was strengthened because of the efficiency of Siniora in taking care of the interests of Hariri, and his honesty in his work in the special management and in representing the general administration.

A former cadre in the Future Movement believes that the benefits of the “professional” relationship between Hariri and Siniora do not reveal the secrets of the international, Arab and “family related” mandate ordering Siniora to take the official leadership of the Sunni community from 2005 to 2009. Though, he considers that staying on the throne of the government twice enables him to assume this rank as being better than Hariri the Son, and this made the distance between them become very far, especially after his role was marginalized, and he was self-relying on gaining a Sunni leadership after the assassination of the martyr President.

People close to Prime Minister Saad reveal that he regrets a lot of things that happened during his reign, including what he used to listen to from his spiritual Father, for he believes now that this “motto” has fell despite the fact that the Movement is still led by Siniora because of the absence of Sheikh Saad who is residing in France and is unable to manage his party from abroad and still needs to keep what is remaining of the “Harirism”, even if he is working within a line that is beyond the rule, upon which the Future Movement was based.

Hence, those who are knowledgeable about the secret things see that President Saad Hariri is awaiting a certain event to return to lead the rudder again. However, he might be waiting for a long or a shot period, depending on the regional links and the conflicting regional relations needed by Hariri to crack down the domestic atmosphere and to start a new political life on the basis of the Movement until returning to the government with political sides that would be internally broken if the regime of Bashar al-Assad collapsed.