Analysis: Lebanon’s ‘one colour’ government has a daunting task


Sunniva Rose
  • English
  • Arabic

Lebanon’s new Prime Minister Hassan Diab formed a government late on Tuesday, 34 days after he was nominated.

The former university professor will have to address Lebanon’s worst economic crisis since the end of the civil war in 1990, amid nationwide protests.

Mr Diab was intent on forming a government of 18 ministers but caved in at the last minute to political pressure and added two more to his Cabinet.

Many had already taken to the streets on Tuesday to reject his government, which they consider to be of “one colour”.

This is just not what protesters were aspiring to so I don't think it's going to end well

That meant it is backed by President Michel Aoun and his allies, including Iran-aligned Hezbollah, and does not include western-supported parties such as former prime minister Saad Hariri’s Future Movement.

The National asked three Lebanon experts for their take on the new government.

“The government today is an interesting mix between specialists and others who are affiliated with political parties,” including advisers to former ministers, said Maha Yahya, director of the Carnegie Middle East Centre.

Ms Yahya said one name stood out: Foreign Affairs Minister Nassif Hitti, a Maronite Christian and formerly Lebanon’s ambassador to the Arab League.

“He is quite highly regarded and a good former diplomat,” she said.

This is the first Lebanese Cabinet to include six women, including the first female Defence Minister, Zeina Akar.

Ms Akar, a Greek-Orthodox Christian, is also the country's first female Deputy Prime Minister.

“Her appointment came out of left field. Nobody saw this coming,” Ms Yahya said. “She has never occupied a public office before.”

But she criticised the process of forming the government, which was conducted as usual through back-door negotiations between political parties.

“This is just not what protesters were aspiring to so I don’t think it’s going to end well,” Ms Yahya said.

She also said the government might not be up to the task of addressing Lebanon’s rapidly deteriorating economic situation.

“I cannot underestimate the size of the challenges that the country is facing on economic and fiscal terms, and their repercussions on society, on the standards of living, and in the medium term, on the stability of the country,” Ms Yahya said.

Karim Bitar, an international relations analyst at the Institute for International and Strategic Affairs in Paris, told The National that most ministers were completely unknown to the public, although "several highly respectable figures" were included.

Mr Bitar also pointed to Mr Hitti, and said Justice Minister Marie-Claude Najem, a Maronite, was a “highly skilled lawyer and respected professor at St Joseph University in Beirut".

"She has worked extensively on promoting an independent judiciary," he said.

"She is in favour of the unification of personal status laws which is a demand of Lebanese civil society, but will certainly face staunch opposition from the most conservative segments of the Lebanese religious establishment.”

Those laws would include the possibility of civil marriage. This is impossible in Lebanon, which only celebrates religious marriages under the rules of the country’s 18 sects.

“So, when it comes to justice reform, there are reasons to be optimistic,” Mr Bitar said.

But he said the public was cautious about the new government because people were afraid that the traditional parties, which have ruled since the end of the civil war in 1990, will use the new figures as “window dressing” while they continue making major decisions.

Mr Bitar also criticised the “considerable missteps” in the new Cabinet, such as giving the Culture and Agriculture ministries to the same person, Abbas Mortada, a Shiite.

“This is another example showing that very often these governments are not formed on the basis of competence and meritocracy, but they try at the very last minute to satisfy the various demands of stakeholders, which produces weird attributions,” he said.

Sami Nader, director of the Levant Institute for Strategic Affairs, said he had “mixed feelings” about the new government.

“It does not bode well because the same old system of power distribution among sectarian groups” has been followed, Mr Nader said.

“That said, there are at least five very good names. The question is, will they be able get rid of the old political system?

"Will they be free to act on their own and deliver good work, or will they be the hostages of the system?”

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7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 1,400m | Winner: Al Shamkhah, Royston Ffrench, Sandeep Jadhav

7.40pm: Handicap (TB) Dh190,000 1,200m | Winner: Lavaspin, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar

8.15pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 1,200m | Winner: Kawasir, Dane O’Neill, Musabah Al Muhairi

8.50pm: Rated Conditions (TB) Dh240,000 1,600m | Winner: Cosmo Charlie, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson

9.20pm: Handicap (TB) Dh165,000 1,400m | Winner: Bochart, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar

10pm: Handicap (TB) Dh175,000 2,000m | Winner: Quartier Francais, Fernando Jara, Ali Rashid Al Raihe

 

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What: Emirates Airline Festival of Literature

When: Friday until March 9

Where: All main sessions are held in the InterContinental Dubai Festival City

Price: Sessions range from free entry to Dh125 tickets, with the exception of special events.

Hot Tip: If waiting for your book to be signed looks like it will be timeconsuming, ask the festival’s bookstore if they have pre-signed copies of the book you’re looking for. They should have a bunch from some of the festival’s biggest guest authors.

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE v Zimbabwe A

Results
Match 1 – UAE won by 4 wickets
Match 2 – UAE won by 5 wickets
Match 3 – UAE won by 25 runs
Match 4 – UAE won by 77 runs

Fixture
Match 5, Saturday, 9.30am start, ICC Academy, Dubai

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Age: 46

Number of Children: Four

Hobby: Reading history books

Loves: Sports

MATCH INFO

Fixture: Ukraine v Portugal, Monday, 10.45pm (UAE)

TV: BeIN Sports

Indoor cricket World Cup:
Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23

UAE fixtures:
Men

Saturday, September 16 – 1.45pm, v New Zealand
Sunday, September 17 – 10.30am, v Australia; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Monday, September 18 – 2pm, v England; 7.15pm, v India
Tuesday, September 19 – 12.15pm, v Singapore; 5.30pm, v Sri Lanka
Thursday, September 21 – 2pm v Malaysia
Friday, September 22 – 3.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 3pm, grand final

Women
Saturday, September 16 – 5.15pm, v Australia
Sunday, September 17 – 2pm, v South Africa; 7.15pm, v New Zealand
Monday, September 18 – 5.30pm, v England
Tuesday, September 19 – 10.30am, v New Zealand; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Thursday, September 21 – 12.15pm, v Australia
Friday, September 22 – 1.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 1pm, grand final

Premier League results

Saturday

Crystal Palace 1 Brighton & Hove Albion 2

Cardiff City 2 West Ham United 0

Huddersfield Town 0 Bournemouth 2

Leicester City 3 Fulham 1

Newcastle United 3 Everton 2

Southampton 2 Tottenham Hotspur 1

Manchester City 3 Watford 1

Sunday

Liverpool 4 Burnley 2

Chelsea 1 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1

Arsenal 2 Manchester United 0

 

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GP3 qualifying, 10:15am

Formula 2, practice 11:30am

Formula 1, first practice, 1pm

GP3 qualifying session, 3.10pm

Formula 1 second practice, 5pm

Formula 2 qualifying, 7pm

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