Joseph A. Kechichian, Senior Writer

Beirut: Lebanese Christian politician Samir Geagea will back his arch rival Michel Aoun for the presidency on Monday, local media reported, an apparent break with his Saudi-backed allies that aligns him with a civil war era enemy supported by Hezbollah.

Lebanese Forces media representative Melhem Riashi announced on Monday that Geagea will endorse the candidacy of Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun at a news conference later in the evening.

The move boosts Aoun’s chances of filling the presidency that has been vacant for 20 months, but does not guarantee him the post. Beyond his existing allies, among them the Iran-backed Hezbollah, Aoun still needs the backing of other groups to secure the necessary parliamentary backing.

Although speculation has been circulating that Geagea may nominate Aoun for several weeks, few expected the move to occur so quickly, even if LF and FPM officials recently intensified their shuttle visits back and forth between Rabieh and Ma‘arab, the two leaders’ official residences.

What finally prompted Geagea to throw support behind his wartime enemy, Michel Aoun, was rather complicated and may create fresh twists to the March 8 coalition to finally ensure parliamentary quorum and elect a head-of-state. Indeed, both men were united in their opposition to the recent initiative made by Sunni March 8 leader Saad Hariri to nominate Marada Movement deputy Sulaiman Franjieh to become president. Franjieh, an unabashed backer of the Syrian regime in Damascus, was a non-starter candidate for many of Christians in Lebanon even if the maneuver was perceived by some as a Hariri effort to break the existing stalemate.

Aoun is supported by Hezbollah and its March 8 allies for the presidency, while Geagea has until today the official March 14 coalition’s candidate. It was unclear whether Geagea cleared his move with Hariri though tensions lingered. In the event, Geagea’s move nullified the Franjieh candidacy, and made the latter look like a mere pawn.

Likewise, the Geagea maneuver ends the king-maker role for Walid Jumblatt of the Progressive Socialist Party, who fielded Henry Helou as a putative candidate.

What will happen next was anyone’s guess although Hezbollah, which considered Aoun as its own candidate, could no longer boycott either parliamentary session or cabinet meetings to elect a president and attend to the country’s needs.

The Lebanese president, who must be a Maronite Christian, is elected by parliament.