A potentially important step toward a new social contract

As a democracy, Lebanon has a sovereign. This sovereign—which the constitution affirms to be the people of Lebanon—has, for the longest time, appeared remarkably unconcerned over a very specific dereliction of duty by its public officials. The dereliction in question was the government’s serial failure to produce a sane, credible, and timely budget, and the sovereign indifference was the near universal quietude over the failure. Moreover, such practical irreverence of the budget’s crucial functions has festered in the Lebanese political body and government since the days of the elder Hariri until last year, when a late and astonishingly unrealistic budget was rushed through. As a democracy, Lebanon has a sovereign. This sovereign—which the constitution affirms to be the people of Lebanon—has, for the longest time, appeared remarkably unconcerned over a very specific dereliction of duty by its public officials. The dereliction in question was the government’s serial failure to produce