Lebanon Has Become a Hollow Shell of Itself

 By Henry Srebrnik, [Moncton, NB] Times & Transcript

Lebanon’s new Prime Minister Najib Mikati pledged on Sept. 10 to tackle one of the world’s worst economic meltdowns, saying he “will deal with anyone for the sake of Lebanon’s interest, with the exception of Israel, of course.”

When it comes to the country’s relations with its southern neighbour, his words hardly matter, of course, because the militant Shiite Muslim organization Hezbollah, which holds sway over state decision-making in Lebanon, decides how to deal with the Jewish state. Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun, though a Maronite Christian, is himself backed by Hezbollah.

Under Lebanon’s power-sharing system, the position of prime minister must be held by a Sunni Muslim. The president is required to be Maronite Christian and the speaker of parliament a Shiite Muslim.

Founded in 1982 by Shiite militants, Hezbollah fought a devastating war with Israel in 2006. Since then, its array of weapons has expanded in both quality and quantity. As well, there has been no real resistance to its role as the de facto power inside Lebanon. Its military power outmatches that of the state and dwarfs the other irregular military presences in the country. 

Lebanon has long been a loose arrangement among competing sects and factions who failed to create a national entity that superseded other loyalties, and now an economic crisis threatens to push what remains of the state toward genuine collapse.

The country had been led by a caretaker government since former Prime Minister Hassan Diab resigned last year amid protests demanding accountability for the horrific Beirut explosion of Aug. 4, 2020, blamed on a stockpile of highly explosive ammonium nitrate stored improperly at Lebanon’s most vital port.

 At least 215 people died in the blast, which caused billions of dollars in damage and added to the country’s already dire economic situation. 

Mikati, a billionaire, was endorsed by most of Lebanon’s political parties, including Hezbollah and the other major Shiite party, Amal. He also gained support from former Sunni prime ministers including Saad Hariri, who abandoned efforts to form a government earlier this year.

 The formation of a new government brings to an end the 13-month gridlock in Lebanon.

Mikati, who hails from the impoverished northern city of Tripoli, was tasked with forming a new government in July. He was twice prime minister, in 2005 and again from 2011 to 2013, and is part of the same political class that has brought the country to bankruptcy.

The currency has lost 90 per cent of its value to the U.S. dollar since October 2019, and annual inflation in 2020 was 84.9 per cent, plunging more 75 per cent of the population into poverty.

Lebanon’s foreign reserves have been running dangerously low, and the central bank in the import-dependent country said it is no longer able to support the country’s $6 billion subsidy program. In August it ended subsidies for fuel imports.

Crippling shortages in fuel and medicine have threatened to shut down bakeries and the country’s internet. There is friction, sometimes violent, in the long queues that start the evening before to fill up vehicles at gas stations the following morning.

Beirut’s International Airport has ceased to function normally, and hospitals and clinics have had to close. To cover the gaps left by the state power supply, residents rely on privately owned, diesel-powered generators. All but the wealthiest Lebanese have cut meat from their diets. Unprecedented numbers of people are trying to leave the country altogether. 

Lebanon’s gross domestic product has plummeted from $55 billion in 2018 to $33 billion in 2020, according to a World Bank report. “Such a brutal and rapid contraction is usually associated with conflicts or wars,” the spring 2021 report states.

How far this country has fallen. For the first three decades of its independence, granted by France in 1943, Lebanon enjoyed a reputation as the “Paris of the Middle East,” and was both a top tourist and cultural destination. But it became embroiled in the Israeli-Palestinian struggle and was plunged into its own 15-year civil war between 1975 and 1990, devastating the country. It hasn’t been the same since.

The government is expected to resume negotiations with the International Monetary Fund for a rescue package. It can’t come too soon.