Lebanon is once again faced with playing the role of a hugely talented country suffocated by a narrow political agenda. The new government has made little attempt to hide the fact that it sees itself as a caretaker entity for a little over nine months, a period during which the various factions that were chosen to make up this carefully calibrated political beast will be setting up their stalls in anticipation of the 2009 elections. The service-based ministries in particular have been distributed tactically, not to contribute to the national good, but to secure votes in marginal districts where a bit of road paving can do wonders. Can there be any greater form of gross misconduct? As for the new ministers, well, they will probably not be burning with a raging desire to fulfill their mandates and it is unlikely that they will lose any sleep over the long list
