Lebanon forms first government after 13 months amidst a severe economic crisis

Lebanon’s president Michel Aoun and prime minister Najib Mikati signed a decree issuing a new government on Friday the 10th of September, 13 months after the resignation of former Prime Minister Hassan Diab in the wake of the Beirut explosion, which left Lebanon without a government. The new cabinet consists of 12 Muslim as well as 12 Christian members in line with Lebanon’s sectarian politics, and it only includes one woman and one independent candidate.

Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who is assuming this role for a third time, was designated prime minister in July after both his predecessors failed to form a government during the last year and resigned in consequence. Mikati, a multi-billionaire facing multiple accusations of corruption, is tasked with forming a response to the severe economic crisis Lebanon has been facing, which catapulted a large portion of its population into poverty. While the new government has been able to secure a long awaited rescue package of just over $1 billion dollars from the International Monetary Fund, it has not yet expressed how it will use this money.

Furthermore, the government has been on a path to decrease fuel subsidies, hiking up the prices by 66% during the last month and again by 38% on Friday the 17th of September, posing further constraints on the poverty-stricken population. As the state electricity grid is rationed to two hours of electricity daily, the population depends on fuel-powered generators to maintain essential services such as hospitals and grocery stores.

Western countries such as France have expressed optimism in the formation of a new government, but the general public response has been skeptical. The new government is a reflection of the sectarian parties which scrambled over influence during the last year, further destabilizing the country. Furthermore, there is skepticism over the integrity of the figures in the Lebanese political class. EU parliamentarian Christophe Grundler, heading the resolution enabling sanctions on corrupt political leaders in Lebanon, told Al Jazeera, “we know who is responsible for the political and the economic crisis: all factions, most ministries, many corrupted MPs,” — a view widely represented by the Lebanese population.

The Lebanese pound has lost 90% of its value alongside massive fuel and medical shortages, leading to massive price hikes in goods such as foodstuffs, making basic sustenance either unaffordable or entirely inaccessible to the average Lebanese citizen.

The largest non-nuclear explosion in history hit Beirut last August after ammonium nitrate was stored in the port facility under dubious security conditions, claiming more than 200 lives and injuring and displacing thousands more. The population is still waiting for an independent inquiry into the figures responsible for the tragedy.

- Emilia Kohlmeyer