Parliament session on Lebanon Cabinet delayed by power cut
Our government was born to light a candle in hopeless darkness, Mikati says after vote of confidence
Lebanon’s new government won a vote of confidence yesterday for a policy programme that aims to remedy a devastating economic crisis, despite the parliamentary session being delayed when the lights went off due to power shortages.
The programme drawn up by Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s government promises to revive talks with the International Monetary Fund and initiate reforms that donors want to see before they will unlock foreign assistance.
When the session finally began, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri urged Mikati to keep his remarks short because of the power cuts. “From the heart of the suffering of Beirut ... our cabinet was born to light a candle in this hopeless darkness,” Mikati said, as he read out the programme.
Nevertheless, the session lasted for more than seven hours. The Cabinet won the vote with a majority of 85 over 15. Mikati faces a tricky path to solid economic ground. “We will start with the IMF this is not a choice it is something we have to go through,” he said.
His draft policy programme said it would renew and develop a financial recovery plan drawn up by the previous government, which set out a shortfall in the financial system of some $90 billion — a figure endorsed by the IMF.
The plan was shot down by Lebanon’s political elite and the banking system, helping to kill off IMF talks last year. Lebanon’s financial system unravelled in late 2019. The root cause was decades of profligate state spending.