Why analysts say the Lebanese government's mass resignation may not change much

(Image credit: JOSEPH EID/AFP via Getty Images)

While the resignation of Lebanon's Prime Minister Hassan Diab and his Cabinet amid protests following a blast in Beirut that killed at least 160 people last week may seem monumental, analysts are skeptical it will have a lasting effect on a country where people have been calling for fundamental change since long before the explosion.

For starters, not everyone considers the resignations as all-encompassing as the appear, since numerous high-ranking authorities including President Michel Auon remain in power.

And just because the politicians who did resign are out of the picture for now, that doesn't mean they will be for long.

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Ultimately, analysts say, the change desired by protesters is systemic, and not simply tied to the current government. Indeed, three prime ministers and two presidents have been in power since the explosives that caused the blast were stored in a Beirut port warehouse and neglected for seven years. Tim O'Donnell

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.