The resignation of Omar Karami's government generated a wave of reaction among the country's politicians, with some warning against creating a power vacuum which could lead to a political stalemate, while others went back to their interrupted parliamentary elections campaigns. Outgoing Interior Minister Suleiman Franjieh spoke to a massive crowd of supporters who gathered in an election-mode rally in Zghorta, promising to settle the score with his opponents at the ballot box. In an unprepared speech, he slammed Chouf MP Walid Jumblatt and criticized the Maronite Patriarch, accusing him of taking sides. He also reiterated his "staunch support" for Syrian President Bashar Assad.Franjieh said: "Jumblatt ought to be standing before the international court at The Hague for his war crimes against the Christians rather than championing the cause of freedom and liberty." He added: "Patriarch Nasrallah should consider us Christians too ... or does he consider Jumblatt a true Maronite?" "Unlike Jumblatt," Franjieh said, "we stay faithful to our friend Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and to martyred Prime Minister Rafik Hariri."
Some politicians feared the country would face a critical impasse if opposing parties refused to talk to each other. However, former minister Fouad Butros believed politicians should not fear any potential power vacuum because they have the time to hold a productive dialogue to form a new government. He said: "We still have a president, a Parliament and an outgoing government that administers the state affairs until forming a new government." Butros added that in the absence of a standing government one cannot talk about loyalists and opposition. He said: "If some parties still categorize their political actions as an opposition movement, then they must be confronting a different party than the government. If the opposition means opposing Syria, then it should talk to Damascus and not with their fellow citizens."