Lebanese lawmakers on Tuesday re-elected Nabih Berri as a parliamentary speaker for a seventh consecutive term, giving a message that this figure is "immune" and "untouchable" in the Lebanese political dilemma.
Berri won the presidency of the Lebanese Parliament in the first round of voting for the position, by obtaining 65 votes.
The newly-elected Speaker affirmed, after his election, that he would cast "every offense" behind him, and he would meet "the white paper with a white heart and a sincere intention to save Lebanon."
Berri said, "My hand is extended to all for sincere cooperation in order to save Lebanon," pointing to the need to unite in rejecting any compromise on rights or normalization with the Israeli enemy under any circumstances.
He added, "We must be 128 deputies to save the country, reject sectarianism, and move Lebanon to a state of citizenship and equality. Let us be 128 MPs to refuse to compromise Lebanon's rights, and stand with occupied Palestine."
Who is Nabih Berri?
Berri is a Lebanese Shiite political leader, who was born in Sierra Leone near diamond mines. He was born on January 28, 1938, and raised in the city of Tibnin in southern Lebanon.
He has held the position of Speaker of Parliament since 1992 and thus leads the Amal Movement after he met Musa al-Sadr in 1980.
Berri was skilled in swimming, which is one of the hobbies he practiced in summer and winter, and as a child he practiced some sports, but he did not become a professional, such as boxing.
He got married twice, the first to Laila Berri, with whom he has children, Ceylon, Sawsan, Farah, Mustafa, Abdullah and Hind, and then he married Randa Assi, with whom he has Reem, Amal, Maysa and Basil.
He is considered one of the Shiite figures in Lebanon, where he is criticized by many because of corruption.
Why Berri is "untouchable"?
For many Lebanese who voted for change, Berri is the embodiment of a system that has spawned political paralysis, economic collapse, and the sort of rampant mismanagement that enabled the deadly 2020 Beirut port explosion.
“He represents everything that is wrong with the Lebanese system, which is today not only a kleptocracy, but also a gerontocracy,” said Karim Emile Bitar, director of the Institute of Political Science at the Saint Joseph University of Beirut, according to a report published by France Press.
The report added that "While Hezbollah and its allies lost its parliamentary majority in the latest election, the two Shiite parties – Hezbollah and Amal – won more seats this year than in 2018."
“They will use the argument of so-called consociational democracy,” said Bitar, referring to power-sharing to avoid violence, “saying that even though we do not have an absolute majority in parliament, considering we control all Shiite seats, one of us has to be the speaker and our candidate is Nabih Berry.”
Lebanon’s confessional political arrangement has not changed despite frequent calls for an overhaul, including by a youth-led protest movement that erupted in October 2019 in the wake of the devastating economic crisis.
“Nabih Berri is helpful to Hezbollah because he can maintain bridges between Hezbollah and various Western countries which have put Hezbollah on terrorist organisation lists. So, he is Hezbollah’s ally, but he’s also able to talk to the Saudis, the Americans, to the French,” said Bitar. “He is the face that Hezbollah uses when it wants to negotiate with countries that are not ready to talk directly with Hezbollah.”
Berri’s ability to engage with all players, to joke and defuse tensions inside and outside the chamber have made him an indispensable figure in Lebanon’s complex political landscape.
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