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Lebanon's latest government: a perspective from Israel

The Daily Star
Posted on Monday December 7, 2009

In early November, Saad Hariri finally succeeded in forming a new government in Lebanon. This was five months after the Lebanese had gone to the polls to elect their representatives. Hariri was and remains the leader of the Sunnis in Lebanon and winner in the elections. However, there is no doubt that the events of the past five months, during which the Lebanese political system was almost completely paralyzed, reveal the difficulties and challenges confronting the country.

The parliamentary elections aroused great interest both within Lebanon and abroad. This was first of all on account of their possible implications for the character of the country’s political system. People wondered how the elections would affect the survivability of the post-Taif political system, the so-called “Taif republic.” In the short term, the main issue was the confrontation with Hizbullah, which involved that organization’s efforts to force itself on its rivals, at times violently. In the long term, Lebanon’s main problem was how to integrate the Shiite community into the state’s institutions and political and social systems insofar as Shiites had evidently become the largest community in the country…

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