The escalating rhetoric between rival Lebanese political parties eased over the past week, allowing them, through unspoken agreements, to temporarily set aside their disputes and focus on the pressing financial and economic crises. The tensions eased up enough for them to request assistance from the International Monetary Fund and later paved the way for calls to set aside their political interests and instead exert efforts to resolve the crippling economic crisis.
Setting aside the disputes was also prompted by the international community’s preoccupation with the coronavirus pandemic. The local and international factors have given the Lebanese parties the rare opportunity to contain tensions to prevent Lebanon’s dramatic security and political collapse as the people continue to vent their rage against the government.
The latest such outbursts took place in the northern city of Tripoli and southern city of Sidon where protests erupted over the poor economy. The protests turned violent, with some demonstrators setting banks on fire in frustration over the collapse of the local currency against the dollar and stringent controls the banks have imposed over cash withdrawals.
The government succeeded last month in approving an economic rescue plan. Political leaders then met at the Baabda presidential palace on Wednesday to discuss it. Speaking at the gathering, President Michel Aoun said Lebanon was most in need to set aside settling political scores and instead unite to overcome the various crises. Prime Minister Hassan Diab echoed those remarks, saying there was “no room” for settling old scores.
The demand to abandon old scores is significant from Diab, who just weeks ago had launched an unprecedented attack against Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh, whose policies for the past 30 years he blamed for the current financial crisis. His statements even led to calls for the dismissal of the longtime governor.
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri cautioned against Salameh’s dismissal. Other disputes between political blocs soon emerged, with accusations being traded over who to blame for various crises.
The government, which was formed late last year, soon found itself in a confrontation with the parliament. This is what prompted Aoun to call for heads of parliamentary blocs and political leaders to attend the Baabda meeting, his sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.
The meeting was ultimately boycotted by former Prime Minister Saad Hariri. Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt did not attend either, but he had held a surprise meeting with Aoun two days prior.
The talks were understood as the two officials meeting each other halfway in a bid to ease mounting tensions. Relations between Jumblatt and the Free Patriotic Movement, founded by Aoun, had been strained since the summer. By meeting the president, Jumblatt had sought to “organize the dispute between us. We disagree in some places and agree in others.”
Jumblatt’s aide, Rami al-Rayyes, revealed that the PSP chief’s main concern is safeguarding his Mount Lebanon stronghold, especially in wake of months of tensions sparked by various social media posts that had sought to “dig up the past.”
Rayyes welcomed the Jumblatt-Aoun meeting, saying the two leaders agree to disagree, which is part of democratic life, “on condition that they maintain civil political rhetoric.”
“We are eager to forge ahead along this path in order to reach the desired result and organize the political dispute,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.
The current divisions do not appear to be paving the way for the reorganization and realignment of various political powers. The way things have been managed for the past ten years will likely continue, with the exception of the emergence of an opposition that agrees on some issues and differs on others with the ruling authority and among each other.
It is clear that each of these forces have their own interests. Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea confirmed this after attending the Baabda meeting. “We are not a united front. Each one has his position in the opposition and goes about his business their own way. We have not formed a united front because we do not want to go back to the way things were, whereby we would agree on one thing and differ on many others. We must either agree on a comprehensive plan or remain in our own positions,” he explained.
His remarks could be read within the context of those who attended the Baabda talks and those who did not. The LF participated, while the Marada Movement, which is represented at cabinet, did not. Hariri’s Mustaqbal movement boycotted the talks, saying that the natural place to discuss the rescue plan was at parliament. It also questioned the futility of discussing a plan that has already been approved by the government.
Rayyes said that instead of becoming preoccupied with “forming alliances and fronts, we must work together to salvage the social and living conditions in Lebanon that have reached dangerous and unprecedented levels.”
