BEIRUT (AFP) — Lebanon's ruling coalition was on Saturday studying a fresh proposal by the Syrian-backed opposition seen as a last-ditch olive branch that could help end the country's long-running political crisis.
The compromise plan was unveiled amid fears of further divisions following declarations by rival political leaders that have raised fears of two governments and two presidents, a stark reminder of the chaos in the aftermath of the country's 1975-1990 civil war.
On Friday, prominent opposition figure and parliament speaker Nabih Berri said his camp was willing to drop a demand for a unity government if the country's feuding political parties agree on a candidate for the presidency.
"We are holding consultations, and this will take two to three days. We have to examine and evaluate the issue in all its aspects," Telecommunications Minister Marwan Hamadeh said of Berri's offer.
"We are of course open to all negotiations," Hamadeh told AFP, adding: "It is too soon to have a reaction to the proposal. We have to see on which programme this proposal is based, and on which president."
Berri's announcement marked the first time the opposition has shown a willingness to break the deadlock over the divisive issue of finding a successor to Damascus-backed President Emile Lahoud.
Parliament has from September 25 to November 24 to elect a president to replace Lahoud, whose term in office was controversially extended by three years under a Syrian-inspired constitutional amendment in 2004.
Lebanon has been hit by its worst political crisis since the civil war after six pro-Syrian ministers resigned from Prime Minister Fuad Siniora's cabinet in November, effectively paralysing government and political decision-making.
"Berri's announcement... opened a wide door for dialogue over the presidential election," Lebanon's leading An-Nahar newspaper said.
"Making good use of Berri's gambit would help put them (rival political camps) on the right path toward reconciliation and national salvation," agreed The Daily Star.
"Wasting it can only push the country that much closer to an unwanted -- and wholly unnecessary -- disaster," warned English-language daily which hailed Berri's proposal as an "olive branch".
"It is the last warning for the salvation of Lebanon," warned the leftist As-Safir.
It urged the ruling majority to accept Berri's proposal in order to "start a new era for all the Lebanese together... or else we will all perish before we can even see the light."
The opposition, headed by the militant Shiite group Hezbollah, had been demanding veto power in government and a consensus presidential candidate as conditions for taking part in the parliamentary vote for head of state.
The Western-backed government had, however, rejected the demands.
Lahoud on Thursday raised the stakes by saying that he would appoint the country's army chief to head an interim government in the event the squabbling parties could not agree on a candidate to replace him.
Last week, MP Walid Jumblatt, a prominent leader of the ruling majority, said the majority was free to elect a new president even if Berri, as speaker, continues to block parliamentary sessions.
The moves threatened to plunge back Lebanon into a situation similar to the chaotic last years of the civil war, when there were two parallel governments and the army was split in two.
The nation has been in turmoil since the 2005 assassination of former prime minister Rafiq Hariri, which was widely blamed on powerful neighbour Syria and subsequently forced it to end 29 years of military domination in Lebanon.
