A recent debate over constitutional powers has turned into an exchange of accusations between the Future Movement (FM), which warned against meddling with the equations established by the Taif Accord and the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), which vehemently defended the powers of President Michel Aoun. Former President Michel Sleiman intervened on Wednesday, saying: “The spirit of the Constitution obliges every constitutional authority to allow all other authorities and institutions to exercise their full rights and powers.” “The President of the Republic is obliged to ensure the separation of powers, their balance and cooperation in accordance with the Constitution and the social contract represented by the Taif Agreement, which has guaranteed the civil peace in Lebanon in the past ten years,” he added. Also defending the powers of the premiership, former Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi said that the president, when he took the presidential oath, was entrusted with protecting the powers given to the prime minister and to the other authorities. “We will reject any violation of the Constitution, and we will face those who believe that with the illegal weapons, they can change national equations,” he added. Labor Minister Mohammad Kabara warned of “any attempt to bypass the constitutional red line and violate the powers of the prime minister.” For its part, the FPM emphasized on Wednesday the need to preserve the presidential powers. Member of Strong Lebanon bloc, MP Elias Bou Saad, said: “I urge you to be careful when talking about the powers of the president and avoid ignoring them.” Officials in the FPM launched an attack on former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora for defending the premiership’s powers in recent remarks. “The crocodile tears which Siniora shed on the Taif Accord in Bkirki and the Vatican will not help him. We will catch his hand to prevent him from harming the Constitution,” Justice Minister in the caretaker government Salim Jreissati said on his Twitter account.