Hezbollah, allies positioning to win election

BEIRUT

With quiet campaigning and moderate talk, Hezbollah is building its strength for Lebanon’s June 7 parliamentary elections - and the militant Shi’ite Muslim group and its allies stand a good chance of winning.

That could mean a stunning shake-up for one of the Middle East’s most volatile countries if the pro-U.S. government is replaced with a coalition dominated from behind the scenes by Hezbollah, the political movement and guerrilla group widely seen as the proxy of Iran and Syria in Lebanon.

The U.S. and Israel consider Hezbollah a terrorist organization, and their biggest fear is that a win by the group and its allies would increase the sway of Iran and Syria. The U.S. ambassador in Beirut has already expressed concern, and opponents warn that a Hezbollah win will result in the West isolating Lebanon and Washington reducing its millions in aid.

Hezbollah, whose name means “party of God,” has run a low-key election campaign with a moderate message, aiming to show that a victory by its coalition should not scare anyone.

Hezbollah’s leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, has even said that if the coalition wins, it would invite its opponents to join in a national unity government to ensure stability. His deputy, Sheik Naim Kassem, says the West will have to accept the election results.

Sheik Kassem said foreign diplomats are already approaching Hezbollah, “some wanting to open a new page.” Britain has said it is willing to talk to Hezbollah’s political wing, and a Hezbollah member of the current Lebanese parliament recently traveled to London.

The moderate tone is in part because Hezbollah does not want to suffer the same fate as its Palestinian militant ally Hamas, which won legislative elections in 2006 but was boycotted by the West and crippled by an Israel-led closure of the Gaza Strip.

“There are pitfalls for winning or losing,” said Hezbollah expert Amal Saad-Ghorayeb. “They [Hezbollah] see the dangers of winning.”

Nevertheless, a Hezbollah win would almost certainly mean changes that would dismay the West and Israel. It would mean less pressure from Lebanon’s government to rein in Hezbollah’s arsenal of rockets pointed at the Jewish state - weapons employed in the 2006 war with Israel - and more backing for efforts to change Lebanon’s electoral system to solidify Shi’ite power further.

Israel’s worry is “whether Iran and Syria will succeed in adding Lebanon to their bloc,” said Israeli political analyst Barry Rubin. “It would be a huge defeat for the West.”

So far, Hezbollah has campaigned quietly, with none of its trademark fiery anti-Israel rallies. Its 10 candidates have been holding town hall meetings in Shi’ite villages, focusing on promises to root out corruption and improve government performance, and stressing government by consensus.

By contrast, leaders from the U.S.-backed majority have held three splashy rallies since February before several thousand people in a Beirut hall, with balloons, confetti and speakers projected on a giant screen.

Sheik Nasrallah says Hezbollah knows that trying to dominate Lebanon’s politics would destabilize the country, which in the past four years nearly tumbled into a repeat of the 1975-90 civil war as the pro-Syria and pro-U.S. camps struggled for the upper hand.

“In such a sectarian system, it is in the interest of Lebanon and its stability that there is understanding and partnership among Lebanese in running their country’s affairs,” he said in a recent televised speech.

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