While the Lebanese people are busy with the elections, many officials and politicians are thinking about the post-election phase. Despite fierce competition in Mount Lebanon, the North and the Bekaa after the alliance between opposition forces and FPM leader Michel Aoun failed, many electoral calculations are linked to preparations for the next phase and to the post-election orientations of the authorities. Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's fiery Liberation Day comments Wednesday in Bint Jbeil come in this context. Nasrallah linked Hizbullah's disarmament with achievement of a peace settlement in the region and asserted the party will fight to the death anyone who thinks about disarming the resistance by force. He urged parties that established contacts with Israel in the past and relied on the U.S. not to do so again, and suggested they reach an understanding with their local partners instead, including Hizbullah.
Nasrallah's speech had a strong impact on political circles busy with the elections. Some circles evaluated the speech from an electoral angle, saying it had a negative affect on the Christian public in Mount Lebanon and prompted them to vote against lists including Hizbullah candidates. Others said Nasrallah's speech has mobilized the hesitant Shiite public to vote for the list including Chouf MP Walid Jumblatt's candidate, former President Amin Gemayel and the LF.