Tueni strongly supported the freedom of speech. He also encouraged the questioning of the Hafez al-Assad's government. He regarded Bashar al-Assad as a "new generation" leader and had hopes that Syria would finally change its politics towards Lebanese.[1] However, since Bashar al-Assad aligned himself with then-Lebanese President Emile Lahoud and Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, instead of backing Lebanon's "democratic forces", he was disappointed over time.[6] Then, he became a fierce critic of the Syrian government and its policies in Lebanon.[8][13][14]