If any more evidence was needed that Michel Aoun is a fading political force, the Free Patriotic Movement leader provided it over the weekend.

In bombastic remarks to reporters at his residence, the former general took aim at the leader of the one institution in the country that still functions with any semblance of normalcy, Army commander Gen. Jean Kahwagi.

It was clear that Aoun was nervous. He had staked his political fortunes on ensuring that his son-in-law, Shamel Roukoz, was appointed as the Army’s commander-in-chief. His inability to force the Cabinet to accept this demand was just the latest in a string of political failures. But Aoun’s response to this latest defeat was to issue a public threat accusing Kahwagi of a coup and warning the Army chief against confronting his supporters if they heed his call for protests.

Having already obstructed the work of Parliament and Cabinet, putting hundreds of millions of dollars in aid money and crucial legislation at risk, Aoun is now whipping his supporters into an anti-Army frenzy. No good can come out of pitting the people against the Army, especially at such unstable times in the country.

Surely even the most casual observer of Lebanese politics can now plainly see that Aoun is willing to destroy the country if he does not get his way. No one can claim that Aoun has the interests of the Christian community at heart when his goals are so obviously nepotistic and his coercion is leading the entire country into an abyss.