For 4th time, nation turns to Hariri
Lebanon’s president tasked former Prime Minister Saad Hariri with forming a new government Thursday, bringing back the veteran politician a year after he was toppled amid nationwide protests against widespread corruption and a flunking economy.
President Michel Aoun designated Hariri to form the next government after a slight majority of votes from lawmakers, securing the return of an old name to lead the country desperate for change.
Hariri now faces a more impoverished Lebanon, devastated by a massive explosion in August that defaced Beirut.
But the 50yearold politician takes the helm with a sense of urgency and more involvement by international leaders who have warned that the small country is on the verge of collapse. Hariri pledged to quickly form a new government — his fourth in the past decade — that would halt the country’s economic collapse, calling it the “last and only” opportunity.
The task is enormous, amid an unprecedented economic and financial crisis, and stiff opposition, including from former political allies and protesters who had been demanding change and who see him as a symbol of an entrenched political class they blame for the country’s woes.
In the past year, Lebanon’s currency has collapsed, losing nearly 80% of its value, while prices, unemployment and inflation soared. Lebanese have been unable to access their savings, as banks imposed informal capital controls, fearing a run on deposits.
The gigantic August explosion in Beirut’s port, caused by thousands of tons of highly explosive chemicals stored in a warehouse, compounded the crises. The blast killed nearly 200 people, and injured over 6,000. It was seen as further proof of an incompetent political class in charge of governing the small country since the end of its 15year civil war in 1990.
“I say to Lebanese who are suffering hardship to the point of despair, I am determined to keep my promise, to work on stopping the collapse that threatens our economy, society and security and to rebuild what was destroyed by the terrible port explosion in Beirut,” Hariri said. “Time is running out.”