Give me a sign

It’s a sad testimony to the state of Lebanon’s democracy. Getting elected is more a matter of who you are than what you actually promise to do. The country is on the verge of an economic meltdown. It’s virtually impossible that the government will hit its deficit target by the end of the year. Debt servicing now exceeds revenues. And the debt-to-GDP ratio stands at 140%, one of the highest in the world. In most countries, political candidates and the parties they represent, in an effort to convince voters to elect them, would be busy forming detailed platforms to address such grave concerns. But solutions to Lebanon’s ailments are rarely heard at this election time. Meanwhile, banks’ revenues, the country’s most profitable money spinners, are heading south, thanks in part to the poor state of the economy. One of the biggest draws for investors, the real estate market, has been