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Image posted, Reuters
Mustafa Adib’s attempts for several weeks to form a government failed
Mustafa Adib, the Lebanese prime minister-designate, has apologized for his mission to form a new government after spending weeks trying to persuade political parties to accept his elections amid popular demands for political reform.
Reports were circulating that the issue that settled the matter was the dispute over who should be in charge of the Ministry of Finance.
Adeeb had been assigned to form a government after the explosion that destroyed most of downtown Beirut, and was trying to form a government to deal with the suffocating financial crisis in Lebanon.
The previous Lebanese government resigned after the explosion in the port of Beirut on August 4 this year, which killed more than 190 people, injured thousands and destroyed entire areas of the capital.
Adeeb has been under pressure to form a government since he was appointed on August 31, in order to carry out the reforms necessary to secure billions of dollars in international aid.
Adeeb’s efforts to form a government have been obstructed by the Amal Movement and Hezbollah, which represent the Shiite community in Lebanon, by insisting on retaining the Ministry of Finance.
Analysts say this is related to the imposition of US sanctions on a former minister of the Amal movement, as well as business interests linked to Hezbollah.
Mustafa Adeeb, who was Lebanon’s ambassador to Germany, had said that he wanted reforms to begin immediately and had requested a rescue package from the International Monetary Fund.
In addition to relations with Amal and Hezbollah, Adeeb insisted on forming a government of technocrats, but the political parties insisted that they have the right to appoint ministers.
In the end, Adeeb submitted his resignation to the President of the Republic, Michel Aoun, and apologized to the Lebanese people for “not realizing their hopes of forming a reformist government.”
He said he does not want to lead a government doomed to failure
What is the situation in Lebanon now?
For a year, anti-government protesters demanded the restructuring of the political system.
The current system is based on sectarianism and successive governments have been accused of failure and supremacy in dealing with problems.
Political appointments and many jobs depend on affiliation with a sect, a system that has led to widespread corruption and division.
The country was in a difficult financial situation even before the explosion that occurred in early August, with the collapse of the currency, unemployment rising to a very high level and widespread poverty.
Lebanon was going through a suffocating economic crisis, the worst since the civil war that lasted from 1975 to 1990, even before the port exploded.
Commenting on the crisis, former Prime Minister Saad Hariri said: “Whoever celebrates the failure of the French initiative to urge the Lebanese parties to form a government will regret losing the opportunity. We tell these people that they will bite their fingers with to weigh”.
