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Mystery reigns in Lebanon one day after Prime Minister-designate Mustafa Adib apologized for the task of forming a new government in light of the parties’ differences over ministerial portfolios, despite international pressure.
Adib’s apology indicates the possibility of the failure of the initiative launched by French President Emmanuel Macron after the tragic explosion that occurred on August 4 in the port of Beirut, which resulted in the death of more than 190 people and thousands of injuries, and caused massive destruction in entire areas of the Lebanese capital.
At the end of his visit to Beirut earlier this month, Macron announced the commitment of the political forces to form a “government with a specific mission” to undertake basic reforms and restore street confidence in two weeks. But this period passed without the formation of a new government.
“If the October promises are not kept, there will be consequences,” he said in early September.
For his part, Mustafa Adeeb said on Saturday: “With the efforts to form the government reaching its final stages, it became clear to me that this consensus on the basis of which I accepted this national mission … is no longer valid.”
According to the constitution, the president of the republic must carry out new binding parliamentary consultations to appoint a new prime minister to form the government.
But this operation is again threatened by delays, delays and possibly failures again.
“I do not expect a government anytime soon,” Sami Atallah, director of the Lebanese Center for Political Studies, told AFP.
He added: “There was an opportunity and great pressure to form a government, but that did not happen (…), which means that the problem is greater” than local considerations, referring to the repercussions of regional conflicts, especially between states. States and Iran, in the Lebanese file.
Since Adeeb was appointed to form a government on August 31, he has sought to form a government of specialists capable of adopting the necessary reforms.
Their efforts collided, especially with the insistence of the Shiite duo represented by Hezbollah, the country’s most prominent political and military force, and its ally, the Amal Movement, led by Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, to appoint their ministers and stick to the bag of money.
Mustafa Adeeb’s apology for the task of forming the government, less than a month after his assignment, gave him the feeling of returning to the starting point in light of the complete ambiguity surrounding the Lebanese scene.
The French-language newspaper L’Orient-Le Jour entitled “Mustafa Adib’s page has been closed … and now?”, Which describes the inability to form a government as a “leap into the unknown.”
On Sunday, newspapers addressed the issue of Adib’s apology, and the Lebanese newspaper An-Nahar headlined “serious repercussions of Macron’s apology and attention.”
Fears are growing about the deterioration of the situation in the country, which is experiencing the most serious economic and political crisis in thirty years, amid a deterioration in the value of the national currency in a context of political disputes and unprecedented popular resentment .
Security concerns are also increasing after the killing of Lebanese soldiers on Saturday night, Sunday, by “terrorists” in a city in the north of the country, as the Lebanese army announced in a statement, while a security source told AFP on Sunday that at least nine militants suspected of belonging to ISIS were killed in the North following a manhunt by security forces.
Lebanon had started talks with the International Monetary Fund after defaulting on its debt payments in March, but they quickly failed.
Maha Yahya, director of the Carnegie Middle East Center, believes that in the absence of a new government in the short term, Lebanon is left with a government that resembles a “lame duck” to do business in the country, adding that ” Institutions that operate within it cannot make any decisions and certainly cannot negotiate with a fund. ” International criticism of an economic recovery plan “.
For his part, the United Nations Special Coordinator in Lebanon, Jan Kubis, asked in a tweet: “Hey, (Lebanese) politicians, have you really spoiled this exceptional opportunity created by France?”
“When will they finally stop their usual games and listen to the cries and needs of the people?”
President Michel Aoun warned on Monday that the country is headed for “hell” if political forces do not agree to form a government.
“If we don’t go to hell, we can witness an increase in violence, a weakening of public institutions, an exacerbation of the economic crisis … and a new wave of immigration,” said Karim Bitar, a political expert on Eastern affairs. Means, medium.
