Lebanon’s new government: Get to work, gents (and lady)

Having spent the best part of a year trying to form a government, when the new Prime Minister Tammam Salam visited President Michel Sleiman in his Baabda Palace to announce the new Cabinet, he may have been feeling more pressure than excitement. The challenges facing the country are greater than at any time since the civil war ended in 1990. Since the start of the year, there has been a string of suicide bombings, killing dozens and injuring hundreds. Economically, the country is stagnating — with scores of young people desperately seeking a route out. If Salam is to defuse the crisis, he will need a strong Cabinet around him with a clear plan. The initial signs are not wholly positive. Shortly after the Cabinet was announced, it became clear that many of them had not been selected purely on merit. Ali Hassan Khalil, the new finance minister, admitted in