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 of obligations and shortcomings that apply, not just to their own, but to every ministry in Lebanon. It is also unlikely that they will be transparent in communicating what needs to be done, for in doing so they run the risk of being judged if and when they fall short.
In the competitive arena of today’s Middle East, Lebanon can no longer get away with being an eccentricity. It has run out of excuses. It is no longer the sunshine state with European glamour and a knack for handling money. The region might crave its talent but it no longer craves its services. Only the cobweb-ridden cliché remains. Lebanon is now an outsider in a region that knows the rules and plays by them. The results are clear for all to see.
The Lebanese government has nine months. During that time it should, at the very least, lay down the foundations for growth. It should help the private sector plant deeper roots, it should identify areas of a creaking public sector that are ripe for privatization, and it should address the rampant inflation and derive ways to cope with rising fuel costs. It should encourage its best and brightest to believe in the future, to believe that it is better to be part of prosperous nation that is itself part of a broader and equally prosperous Middle East rather than a country rife with sectarian suspicion.
We of course will be monitoring events closely.
