By Mohammad El Sahily | Staff Writer
Last week, in an effort to protest what they saw as an atrophy in the presidential elections process, Members of Parliament Najat Saliba and Melhem Khalaf stated that they will literally sleep in Parliament until it convenes with a quorum and elects a president. Several other MPs have joined them, namely from the “Change MPs” bloc, the Lebanese Forces, and Kataeb members of Parliament. Due to the novelty of such a gesture in Lebanese politics, this sit-in received extensive media attention, and the MPs in question were able to convey a message calling for popular action against parliamentary obstruction.
The gesture was a rather polarizing act in a political scene which continues to be frozen and is used to waiting for “major deals” among the Lebanese ruling class to determine the next president. So far, not only does the Hezbollah-FPM bloc not possess a majority, but neither does its opponent coalition of the Lebanese Forces-Kataeb who want to weaken Hezbollah’s hold over the country. The inability of either large bloc to secure majorities in Parliament have led to an impasse in the election of the president, leaving a vacuum in the presidency since Michel Aoun ended his term on November 1st and onwards.
On one hand, the gesture was hailed as part of a pro-active position by the “Change MPs” to end political deadlock and carry on with the business of electing and legislating. Many Lebanese expressed hope that the MPs’ insistence on ending the impasse was proof of action, as opposed to the remainder of the large parties’ MPs insistence on reaching a “consensus” choice of president. This was, as well, one of the few times that Lebanese politicians were able to inspire a bare semblance of hope in the midst of an ever-deepening economic crisis which remains rather limitless in effect.
On the other hand, some people had a more sober assessment. The stunt was seen as nothing more than detached action, one that is out of touch with the realities of the people. As the Lebanese presidency is a largely ceremonial position, the MPs have been criticized as focusing on the wrong problem, while avoiding addressing the economic crisis and social collapse. A more potent and dangerous argument is that, by insisting on fulfilling quorum for election, the MPs might actually be helping Hezbollah elect a president by achieving the aforementioned quorum. This scenario, however, remains unlikely for many reasons.
The judiciary crisis, which exploded when Judge Tarek Bitar announced he was returning to the investigation of the Beirut Blast, was exacerbated when Lebanese prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat decided to remove Bitar from the file. In addition, Oueidat issued a travel ban on Bitar and ordered the courts not to cooperate with Bitar or execute his subpoenas. This is killing the blast investigation in all but name, and the public reaction has been explosive. Protestors on Thursday broke into the Justice Palace and nearly managed to storm Oueidat’s office.
The crisis in Lebanon continues to deepen on all fronts, political and economic and social. On the one hand, the MPs attempt to align to solve the impasse which obstructs any real solutions, and on the other hand, the daily reality continues to render any future action obsolete almost on arrival. Amidst all this, there seems to be no sign of improvement on any of the aforementioned fronts, and Lebanese citizens are left to die of food insecurity, illness, or manmade disasters.