Political maneuvering

ENAR

According to elected officials, 2017 was a year of achievement for the Lebanese state. After years of political polarization that prevented even basic governance, lawmakers made progress this year by passing the first state budget in 12 years, appointing officials to fill vacant positions in security, judicial, and other state institutions, and ratifying a new electoral law ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for May 2018. But these developments might not mean that Lebanese politics have fundamentally changed. Sami Atallah, the director of the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies, a Lebanese think tank, says the state’s efforts in 2017 were probably more opportunistic than altruistic. Atallah says that Lebanese politicians are primarily looking to bolster their records ahead of next spring’s elections, and that he does not foresee an opening for non-traditional party candidates in the coming election, unless they succeed in framing the debate on socioeconomic issues and offer serious