New Government In Beirut
Lebanon: Diplomat Mustapha Adib set to form new government in Beirut
Mustapha Adib, the Lebanon ambassador to Germany was appointed as the new prime minister-designate of the country. After he could secure votes of 90 MPs in the 128-member parliament. Mustapha Adib is now set to form the new cabinet which he has vowed to do in record time.
Mustapha Adib, who is affiliated with a Sunni Party headed by billionaire former prime minister Najib Mikati, has been serving as the Beirut’s Berlin envoy since 2013. He has also served as an adviser to Nijab Mikati for about two decades.
On August 4, Beirut was rocked by a massive explosion that killed at least 190 people and left another 6,000 injured. Following the blast, Prime Minister Hassan Diab and his entire cabinet resigned within a week amidst widespread protest across the nation.
Mr. Adib’s appointment was made just a day ahead of the scheduled visit of French President Emmanuel Macron who was due to land on Monday night. This is Macron’s second visit to Beirut within one month.
Last week, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian warned that Lebanon might disappear altogether if they fail to form a new government immediately.
New Government In Beirut
Ahead of his visit, Mr. Macron has urged the international community to help Lebanon. He said that without the aid the country might go into a “civil war”. He asked Lebanon’s politicians to come to an understanding to conduct sweeping reforms that can end decades of corruption and mismanagement.
In recent times, Lebanon has been witnessing unprecedented economic crises with poverty rates soaring high. Since late 2019, the country has seen massive protests, as the rage against the political elite grew. The blast which is believed to be a result of government negligence made the situation worse for the political leaders and it became an issue of international interest.
The international community pledged millions of dollars of aid to help rebuild Beirut. However, in order to secure the aid, the country has to conduct the reforms required by the international sponsors.
In Lebanon, it is a handful of sectarian ruling leaders who make all the major decisions. The former Prime Minister Diab in his resignation speech accused the political elites of Lebanon for hindering economic and political reforms.
Mustapha Adib will now have to tackle the internal political pressure in order to push through the long due reform which is necessary to unlock the international aid.
