Time for a new national pact

ENAR

As part of Executive’s ‘10 Ways to Save Lebanon’ issue, we asked leading figures from a range of fields to put the case for one major changes for the country. In this article, former Tripoli MP Misbah Ahdab makes the case for moving beyond the March 8 and March 14 political groupings in search of a new national pact.   The formation of a new government is cause for optimism — after nearly a year without a Cabinet the Lebanese were crying out for change. Yet sadly it was not really made in Lebanon; while the parties involved may be local, the deal struck to bring it about was not made in Beirut, but in the Gulf, Tehran and Washington. The key moment came in January, when Hezbollah abandoned its demand for a veto block in the cabinet. This sudden shift, after months insisting that there was no room for