Power vacuum in Lebanon
Lebanon plunged into a constitutional crisis last week when the president
Lebanon plunged into a constitutional crisis last week when the president’s term ended with no successor in place. The unprecedented power vacuum pits the country’s Western-backed prime minister, Fouad Siniora, against pro-Syrian opposition parties such as Hezbollah, which supported the outgoing president, Emile Lahoud. Under the constitution, a new president must be elected by the parliament, which Siniora’s coalition controls by a slim margin. But opposition parties have been boycotting parliament. “This government is illegitimate,” said Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem. “It can’t rule and it can’t exercise the role of the presidency.”
In his final act as president, Lahoud ordered the army into the streets to prevent “a state of emergency.” But Siniora declared the order invalid and said that until a new president is elected, he is in charge. The army set up checkpoints but has remained neutral. Despite the tensions, both sides say they want to avoid violence. Parliament said it would make a sixth attempt to elect a president later this week, after The Week went to press.
“This is no simple red state vs. blue state political crisis,” said Hannah Allam in The Miami Herald. Lebanon is divided among Sunnis, Shiites, and Christians, with Syria, Iran, the U.S., the Palestinians, and other groups all jockeying for influence. Dragging it back from the brink will require a leader of uncommon statesmanship, dedicated to national unity. Such a person “doesn’t seem to be among the current crop of potentials.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Lebanon’s constitution ensures this ugly sectarianism, said Linda Heard in the Saudi Arabia Arab News. It requires a Sunni prime minister, a Shiite parliament speaker, and a Maronite Christian president. A functional country must be run “by persons best qualified for office, not individuals whose support rests on neotribal or religious loyalties.”
All eyes are now on Syria, said Nicholas Blanford in The Christian Science Monitor. Syria actually showed up—albeit at the last minute—to this week’s Mideast peace conference in Annapolis, Md., a signal that it seeks better relations with the U.S. and other Arab states. Lebanon’s pro-Western camp worries that it could be “sold out in a broader deal between the U.S., Syria, and Iran, knowing that Lebanese sovereignty has often been sacrificed for regional harmony.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
A history of student protest at Columbia University
The Explainer Anti-Israel demonstrations at NYC's Ivy League university echo protests against Vietnam War and South African apartheid
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Trump is ruled in contempt'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Hainault sword attack: police hunt for motive
Speed Read Mental health is key line of inquiry, as detectives prepare to interview suspect
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?
Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'
Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
By The Week UK Published
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published