September 19, 2007 (LPAC)--A car bomb in Beirut on September 19 killed MP Antoine Ghanem and killed or wounded over two dozen others. Ghanem, an MP since 2000, was a member of the right wing Christian Phalange Party. The bombing set off fears in the region that the broadly-supported initiative of Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri to convene the Parliament on September 25, to elect a President to succeed the outgoing controversial Emil LaHoude, would be sabotaged. The deadlocked parliament has not met in six months. Since there is fear of Lebanon splitting into two ruling governments there is widespread support for Berri's initiative.

MP Ghenem himself recently told the Maronite League that Berri's initiative is the only serious solution. The Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Peter Sfeir, who spent last week in discussions at the Vatican, held meeting with the Lebanese Bishops upon his return, encouraging support for Berri's initiative. The Bishops issued a statement the same day as the bombing saying that no parliamentarian should boycott the session, which would be tantamount to boycotting the nation. Prime Minister Siniora just returned from talks in Saudi Arabia, where King Abdullah also encouraged Berri's initiative.

But the bombing set off fevered anti-Syrian, anti-unity reaction. MP Moawad, for instance, lashed out blaming Syria for the bombing. "It is the end to any dialogue. We will not dialogue with murderers," he threatened. To add fuel to the fire, the White House issued an official statement calling the bombing "a politically motivated assassination. The victims of the assassinations have publicly sought to end Syria's interference in Lebanon."