Lebanese Cabinet is formed after waiting 13 months: Official-News

The President of Lebanon announced on Friday that the Lebanese government has been established, ending the 13-month stalemate as the country is struggling to deal with one of the worst crises in its history.

The new cabinet is a condition for receiving much-needed international assistance, but it remains to be seen whether it can achieve the required reforms and rescue Lebanon from bankruptcy.

The announcement was made after the meeting between Prime Minister-elect Najib Mikati and President Michel Aoun, after months of transactions between Lebanon’s major political factions.

Mikati, the third prime minister of Lebanon and the country’s richest man, issued a presidential statement in which he vowed to spare no effort to save the country.

He said: “We will use every second to call international agencies to ensure basic daily needs.” He added that his government will also seek help from Arab countries.

After his two predecessors failed to reach an agreement on a new lineup, Mikati was appointed prime minister in July and he announced his ministerial list.

The newcomers include many technocrats, but each minister has the support of one or several factions that have dominated Lebanese politics since the civil war in 1975-1990.

The public is skeptical about the long-term efforts to reach agreement on the government, and many suspect that the political parties that have ruled Lebanon for decades are unlikely to produce fundamental changes.

So far, the country’s hereditary political tycoons seem to be immune to international pressure, which has intensified after the fatal explosion in Beirut’s port on August 4, 2020.

One of the world’s largest non-nuclear explosions killed more than 200 people, and people generally accused the government of incompetence and corruption.

The same chef

Lebanese political analyst Sami Nader believes that if the dynamics prevailing during the cabinet lineup negotiations persist, there is little hope of a breakthrough.

“The continuation of quota politics and the quarrel over every reform and decision will mean that what the caretaker government can do will not deviate,” he said.

“It is the same chef who makes up this government, so they can provide different meals,” he asked.

Since Lebanon’s Prime Minister Hassan Diab and his cabinet collectively resigned after the deadly port bombing on August 10, 2020, Lebanon has been managed by a caretaker government.

The state can no longer provide citizens with electricity for more than a few hours a day, nor can it afford the fuel for generators.

The local currency has depreciated by more than 90%, and all of Lebanon’s 6 million residents have fallen into poverty, and those who can emigrate are in the thousands.

The international community’s demands for extensive reform programs have hardly been met, hindering the payment of foreign aid.

The government’s failure to contact the International Monetary Fund to discuss a mature rescue plan further hinders the recapitalization of bankrupt countries.

“The new government will have to prepare for legislative elections and ensure that they are held on time,” analyst Nader said.

The parliamentary poll will expire next year. Many people hope that voting will bring fresh blood, but others doubt whether the unchanged election system can change the rules of the game.

“There is actually only one door that can be knocked on for this government, and that is the International Monetary Fund, because there is no other way out of the crisis,” Nader said.