Ziyad Baroud — a candidate in waiting?

It is almost three years since Ziyad Baroud stepped down from his post as Lebanon’s minister of interior, yet he remains firmly in the public eye. The broad appeal which he cultivated as a hard-working and conscientious minister has not dissipated, while his central role in drafting the recently launched decentralization plan has kept him close to the heart of Lebanese policy-making. But whether the public image is a carefully crafted ploy or a natural accident of his industrious habits is difficult to gauge. Though he remains tight-lipped on the topic, Baroud has been included in almost every short-list of possible successors to President Michel Sleiman, with a decision due to take place by May 25. In the search for a centrist consensus figure, his is a natural name to mention. But does he want the job? To ask him this – and to discuss current events in Lebanon – Executive sat