Amine Gemayel and The Third Christian Way

Can the Gemayels rebrand the Kataeb as a strong yet independent Christian party?

Uniters?

The Kataeb, headed by Mr. Amine Gemayel, has always been an essential partner in the March14 coalition. In fact, Mr. Gemayyel, an ex-President, has lost a son because of that affiliation. But today, signs are showing that the Gemayels are distancing themselves from the Cedar revolutionaries.

Mr. Gemayel surprised many when he proposed a “neutral government” to the Arab League secretary as a “personal proposal” to solve the current political impasse. The idea is politically shrewd; it takes the impetus away from those blaming Lebanon’s problems on the Seniora government and lays a trap for Christians opposing the immediate appointment of Mr. Suleiman as a President.

Mr. Gemayel’s apparent autonomy is not just tactical. It seems specially designed to lure Christians who have grown disillusioned by the sharp division in their midst. He recently dispatched his son Sami, head of the Youth and Student Council of the Kataeb, to Christian villages in the south to make Obama-esque calls for Christian solidarity and unity, and to tell Christians that the Kataeb will always welcome them — regardless of their political affiliation — to protect them against regional marginalization. 

The reason Mr. Gemayel is taking this road is in the combination of threats and opportunities he saw in Mr. Michel Aoun’s trajectory. The FPM leader’s Christian populism had tapped deep into a popular Christian resentment against the perceived usurpation of power by Muslims, but his over-promising and his blocking of Mr. Sleiman’s presidency ended up stranding many of his supporters. A goldmine of potential Kataeb members if you ask Mr. Gemayel.

Will he succeed? You tell me.

Related Beirut Spring Post:

• Last June, I wrote about a similar attempt by Mr. Gemayel to differentiate himself by creating a “strong Christian” image.