Hezbollah eyes bigger role in next Lebanon government

BEIRUT: The Iran-backed Hezbollah aims to move beyond its traditional backseat role by assuming more influence in Lebanon’s next government to help it counter an escalating US campaign against Tehran and its regional ascendancy.

A parliamentary majority for the Shi’ite Muslim Hezbollah and its allies is expected to be reflected in a new coalition government that Western-backed Saad al-Hariri will now try to form, weakened by the loss of more than a third of his MPs.

The May 6 election underlined how Lebanon’s political landscape has tilted in Hezbollah’s favour in recent years, and is part of a bigger picture of expanding Iranian influence that Washington wants to counter.

“Hezbollah will strengthen its presence more than at any previous time,” a senior Lebanese official familiar with the group’s thinking told Reuters.

“Now it has two ministers. It will have three – and three party members, known leaders – as clear as the sun. Shi’ites,” the senior official said.

The group, which has to date held only marginal cabinet posts, is also seeking more significant service-providing ministries in the new cabinet, according to the official and other sources familiar with Hezbollah thinking.

Any expansion of Hezbollah’s role in government could pose new questions for Western policy in Lebanon. The country has been a big recipient of aid to help it cope with 1 million Syrian refugees on its soil, and its military has been armed and trained by the United States, which deems Hezbollah a terrorist group. — Reuters