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Lebanon's Hizbullah and the Christian Free Patriotic Movement: The End of an Alliance?
(Al Arabiya) Makram Rabah - In 2006, the Free Patriotic Movement, Lebanese President Michael Aoun's Christian party, and Hizbullah began an alliance which has lasted 14 years. The FPM provided Christian political cover while Hizbullah provided the political muscle, leading to Aoun's election as president. But recently, visible cracks have appeared in this alliance as hawkish figures within the FPM have gone to the media over the harmful effect Hizbullah's arsenal has on Lebanon's ability to respond to its abysmal economic conditions. Ziad Aswad, an FPM lawmaker, stressed that for Hizbullah "to keep their weapons means the Lebanese going hungry." In reality, however, FPM's President Gebran Bassil and Hizbullah are umbilically connected. The moment Hizbullah decides to drop Bassil, he will be open to criminal and judicial action or simply go back to losing elections like he did twice before.