Hariri Slams 'Populists' who 'Use Rafik Hariri's Name for Political Gain'

Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Tuesday lashed out at parties whom he described as “populist Trojan horses,” accusing them of using slain ex-PM Rafik Hariri's name for political gain.

“The merchants of slogans and populist speeches are similar to the merchants of extremism and they have one job which is to attack al-Mustaqbal Movement and Saad Hariri,” Hariri said at a Mustaqbal iftar banquet at Beirut's BIEL exhibition center.

“The use of Rafik Hariri's name in the rhetoric of some parties will not give them political legitimacy and Rafik Hariri would not have tolerated this type of overbidders, instigators, opportunists and disloyal people,” Hariri added, in an apparent jab at Mustaqbal minister-turned-political rival Ashraf Rifi.

“Everyone knows very well that al-Mustaqbal Movement was and will always be strong in the national equation. Many forces tried to break it and failed. They failed through weapons, political pressure, isolation and exclusion,” Hariri went on to say.

The prime minister accused Mustaqbal's rivals in the Sunni community of offering “free services to known opponents at the expense of al-Mustaqbal.”

“They take the name of Rafik Hariri to work for the interest of those who killed Rafik Hariri. They are Trojan horses,” Hariri charged.

He stressed that “nothing in the world can drag al-Mustaqbal Movement towards extremism” and that “no one can remove al-Mustaqbal Movement from the equation.”

“You are the first line of defense of moderation in Lebanon, of coexistence, of Lebanon’s Arab identity, of the rise of the state of law and of the right of every Lebanese citizen to live decently,” Hariri added, addressing supporters.

“I will be with you in defending this until the end and I will not abandon the role of al-Mustaqbal Movement in protecting Lebanon and preventing its use in the regional struggle,” he said.

Reiterating that “settlements are not concessions,” the premier noted that “all politicians owe it to the country to make concessions.”

“We reached a settlement that achieved two of the most important achievements in the history of the country in the last thirty years: the election of a president made in Lebanon and an electoral law made in Lebanon. These achievements are now engraved in the record of al-Mustaqbal Movement,” Hariri added.