Lebanese hopes for reforms dashed

Dina Mahmoud (London)

“There is no light at the end of the tunnel,” a pessimistic vision that has become adopted by many interested in Lebanese affairs, in light of the slow pace of steps to form a new government in Beirut, coinciding with the continued deterioration of the economic, financial and living conditions there, which led to the country becoming an arena for various and continuous strikes. Employees are involved in several sectors.
These strikes, according to analysts, indicate the waning confidence of the Lebanese in the ability of Parliament to initiate the much-needed economic reforms, which countries and donors on the regional and international arenas consider a necessary condition for their intervention, to save the country from its stumble that has been going on for more than two years. .
Parliament is still largely subject to the dominance of traditional forces, which have long impeded undertaking any reforms, which led Lebanon to an economic disaster. At the head of these forces are the terrorist Hezbollah militias and their allies, which do not seem ready to make drastic changes in their positions, no matter how dire the situation on the domestic scene.
It is unlikely, according to analysts, that the timid presence of independent MPs, who adopt the visions of the October 2019 uprising, will affect parliament’s decisions, which aborted any attempts to renew blood at the level of the parliament’s presidency, which led to the re-election of Nabih Berri, a traditional ally of Hezbollah,” on this site, for the seventh time in a row, despite the fact that it is now eighty-four years old.
All these indicators led to the dissipation of the glimmer of hope that haunted millions of Lebanese that the recent legislative elections would lead to finding a way out of the crisis that has worsened since mid-2019.
The current political impasse is exacerbated by what an analytical report published on the website of the Institute for Defense Studies and Analysis indicated that the May elections did not produce a clear winner, which led to parliament remaining prey to severe political polarization between Hezbollah and its supporters. And the Lebanese national forces, which reject the party’s hijacking of the Lebanese decision, at the various political, economic and military levels.
Although Parliament has already given its confidence to Najib Mikati, who is tasked with forming the new government, this did not lead to accelerating the pace of completing his cabinet formation, the emergence of which represents a decisive step, to gain the confidence of the international community, which has so far been reluctant to extend a helping hand to a country that has not A fully functioning and stable government has been in place for more than two years.
Hezbollah, which lost its parliamentary majority in the last elections, is still able, in cooperation with its allies, to “put sticks in the wheels,” as the Lebanese say, which has so far impeded the formation of the Mikati government, amid indications that this process may take longer than It was expected.
In addition, analysts warn that the presence of representatives of the “party” in the next government will discourage influential regional and international powers from contributing to providing economic support to Lebanon, especially since the practices of these militias, late this year, led to Beirut suffering from Diplomatic isolation seemed unprecedented.