Progressive Socialist Party

The Progressive Socialist Party () is a left-wing political party in Lebanon. Its confessional base is the Lebanese Druze and its regional base is in Mount Lebanon Governorate, especially the Chouf District. On 25 June 2023 the son of Walid, Taymur Jumblatt, was officially consecrated as leader of the PSP.

History

Origins

The PSP originated from members of several different leftist, Democratic socialist, and progressive movements. Initially, the party was advertised as a secular, progressive political party that also represented the Druzes. Jumblatt appealed to Druzes because of his position as zaim, to other Muslims who were disenchanted with the traditional political system, and to members of some other sects who were attracted by his secular and progressive rhetoric. By 1953 the PSP claimed some 18,000 adherents, and in the 1964 Chamber of Deputies it could count on as many as 10 deputies. Although initially promoting secularism, the party gradually adopted some religious Druze policies. By this time, the party was established as a party devoted to Druze representation and rhetoric, while still maintaining their progressive ideals.

From 1951 through 1972 the party had between three and six deputies in parliament.

Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990)

Under Kamal Jumblatt's leadership, the PSP was a major element in the Lebanese National Movement (LNM), which supported Lebanon's Arab identity and sympathised with the Palestinians.

During the war years, the PSP controlled the seaport at Jieh. In March 1989 General Michel Aoun established a blockade of the port which resulted in artillery exchanges between his forces and a combination of PSP, Amal and the Syrian Army in which at least 90 people were killed and several hundred wounded.

Post-war

After the restoration of constitutional rule in 1989, the PSP was the major ally of Syria in Lebanon and its leader Walid Jumblatt was in close relations with the Syrian Army and intelligence generals in Lebanon, such as Ghazi Kanaan, and also with the Syrian Vice President Abdul Halim Khaddam. In the 1992 general election it won four seats. The PSP participated in a number of governments, but, after the Syria Accountability Act and the UN Resolution 1559 and the change of the balance of powers in the region after the occupation of Iraq, joined the opposition and took up a position opposed to the role of Syria in Lebanon's politics. Unlike some opponents of the Syrian presence, Jumblatt did not oppose the presence of the Syrian army per se, but contended that the Syrian intelligence services were exerting undue influence.

Following the passage of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1559 in September 2004, calling for a Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon, Jumblatt was particularly prominent in the opposition. However, he was opposed to the demand that Hezbollah be disarmed, and insisted on maintaining relations with the Shia Islamist party. Later, he has drifted into sharp opposition towards the group, and has decided to support their disarmament, claiming that Syria and Iran are trying to take over Lebanon through Hezbollah. After the assassination of Rafic Hariri in February 2005, Jumblatt joined the anti-Syria camp, despite his long support to Syria. As part of the March 14 Alliance, the PSP won 16 seats in the general elections held in 2005. It won eleven seats in the 2009 Lebanese general election That year, Jumblatt again refrained from saying Hezbollah should be disarmed. PSP joined joint lists with the Future Movement in Beirut II, Bekaa II and Mount Lebanon IV, and with Lebanese Forces in Mount Lebanon III and Mount Lebanon IV. It dropped to just nine seats in the 2018 election. The party served in the opposition to the short-lived 2019 Cabinet of Hassan Diab, returning to power as part of the Third Cabinet of Najib Mikati in 2021, with just one minister, Abbas Halabi.

In late May 2023, Walid Jumblatt declared his resignation as leader of the Progressive Socialist Party after a 46-year tenure. Around 2,000 supporters gathered in Ain Zhalta, a Druze town in the Chouf mountains, where members of the Progressive Socialist Party named political heir, Taymour Jumblatt, as their new leader. Taymour was the sole contender.

Emblem

The white color in the logo and emblem symbolizes the idea of internal collective peace and global international peace, which it aims to achieve in accordance with what was stated in its charter when explaining doctrine and work.

The blue color symbolizes that the party does not deny the spiritual phenomenon in the life of the human being and in explaining the development of the individual and the group. On the contrary, it takes into account this phenomenon, believing that it is permanent throughout the ages in the life of the individual and the group.

The globe symbolizes the manifestation of human unity and its consolidation in this comprehensive popular movement that ultimately aims to unite the countries of the world in an international union that includes the entire globe, the unity of the human race, and the brotherhood and cooperation that must prevail among all peoples, regardless of their different colors, races, and beliefs.

The connection between the pen and the pickaxe symbolizes the two basic elements that operate in the development of systems, civilization, and history, "material labor and the effort of thought." In the union of the social groups that belong to them, victory is guaranteed in the cause of socialist progressivism.

The red color symbolizes the idea of a comprehensive revolution in systems and mentalities, as stated in the party's charter.

The triangle symbolizes the party's adoption of moral force, that means the direct action, and the principle of sacrifice as an approach and goal for its struggle.

Electoral summary

{| class="wikitable"

!Election year

!# of

overall votes

!% of

overall vote

!# of

overall seats won

!+/–

! colspan="2" |Bloc Leader

!1951

| rowspan="7" |Kamal Jumblatt

| rowspan="7" |frameless|169x169px

!1953

!1957

!1960

!1964

!1968

!1972

!1992

| rowspan="7" |Walid Jumblatt

| rowspan="7" |153x153px

!1996

|3.90% (#4)

!2000

|4.68% (#4)

!2005

|12.50% (#2)

!2009

!2018

|80,894 (#6)

|4.60%

!2022

|75,485 (#5)

|4.18%

Notes

References

Edgar O'Ballance, Civil War in Lebanon, 1975-92, Palgrave Macmillan, London 1998.
Farid El-Kazen, The Breakdown of the State in Lebanon 1967-1976, I.B. Tauris, London 2000.
Fawwaz Traboulsi, Identités et solidarités croisées dans les conflits du Liban contemporain; Chapitre 12: L'économie politique des milices: le phénomène mafieux, Thèse de Doctorat d'Histoire – 1993, Université de Paris VIII, 2007. (in French)
Ken Guest, Lebanon, in Flashpoint! At the Front Line of Today's Wars, Arms and Armour Press, London 1994, pp. 97–111.
Tom Najem and Roy C. Amore, Historical Dictionary of Lebanon, Second Edition, Historical Dictionaries of Asia, Oceania, and the Middle East, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Lanham, Boulder, New York & London 2021. , 1538120437
Walid Khalidi, Conflict and Violence in Lebanon: Confrontation in the Middle East, fourth printing (Cambridge, MA: Harvard Studies in International Affairs, 1984).

External links

Progressive Socialist Party official site (in Arabic) redirect to http://anbaaonline.com as of 8 January 2021
PSP Al Anbaa official newspaper site (in Arabic)