Khalil, Philippe's father, is a long-time supporter of the
Phalangist party. Philippe is an outspoken critic of Lebanese political stalemate; he gained the support of the Aounist elite, namely President Aoun and the president of the
Free Patriotic Movement and then-
Minister of foreign affairs and Emigrants Gebran Bassil with whom he developed close ties. In January 2020 Ziade was nominated for Minister of Energy and Water in the cabinet of then-prime minister-designate
Hassan Diab; he maintains that he was nominated by Sayed Fenianos and a member of the
Harvard University board who is in communication with Diab. The nomination of Ziade to the office is based on his experience with renewable and sustainable energy; his reform agenda centered on cutting energy waste and shifting from fossil fuel energy to self-powered households and businesses using new renewable energy technology such as
Tesla's Powerwall. During a televised interview the influential Cardinal
Bechara al-Rahi, the
Maronite Patriarch of Antioch, and head of the
Maronite Church openly supported the nomination of Philippe. Ziade declined the nomination following the liquidation of
Qasem Soleimani, a high-ranking Iranian military commander, which according to him would impose regional political interference in the internal Lebanese politics while he was expecting to be part of Diab's
technocratic cabinet. Ziade was also the subject of a media smearing campaign involving the circulation of his photos in a state of inebriety during a bachelor party when he was 22 years of age. He issued a press release announcing that his refusal of the cabinet position was on grounds not related to the leaked photos. Ziade was unapologetic during a televised interview with the Lebanese journalist
Marcel Ghanem and justified his behavior as a normal aspect of integration in occidental culture. In the wake of the
2019–2021 Lebanese protests Ziade called for political reform beginning with early
parliamentary elections that introduce young
members of parliament, and the formation of a technocratic cabinet. Although he declared his support for the revolutionary movement, Ziade said that he does not ascribe to the protestors'
motto "
Ash-shab yurid isqat an-nizam" [the people want to take down the regime]. He justified his position by saying that Lebanon is a faulty
parliamentary democracy in need of reform. Ziade strongly advocates a civil state and the
separation of powers. In the aftermath of the presidential vacuum, Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi sent a list of presidential candidates to
Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri, and the leadership of
Hezbollah and the
Progressive Socialist Party in April 2023. Ziade was on the list as a candidate proposed in a settlement effort through indirect dialogue between the
Lebanese Forces and the Free Patriotic Movement. == Activism and philanthropy ==