Getting the books back in order

On paper, the Lebanese state should function. The constitution—frequently ignored as it may be—envisions a rational budgetary process that allows for planning, checks and balances among different branches of government, and an annual allocation of resources based on anticipated needs. In simple terms, every year the government should ask Parliament for the legal authority to collect and spend money. Parliament’s “yes” comes in the form of the budget law. A given year’s budget law should be passed before the year begins (meaning Parliament should have just legislated the budget for 2018—not, as it did, for 2017). Lebanon’s constitution also says that before a new budget is passed, the previous year’s budget should be audited by the courts, ensuring the numbers all add up and that red flags are raised overanything that seems suspicious. Parliament has the power to then accept or reject the yearly audit (or closure of accounts, see