Think Harder

The New Majority’s strategy to oust President Lahhoud looks very flimsy.


It seems the opposition (we should start calling it “the New Majority”) has a plan to kick Lahhoud out: They form a “harmonious” government (code talk for a government where the president doesn’t have any say) to run the country. This will certainly push Lahhoud to reject it using his constitutional right (by withholding his signature). The designated Prime Minister will then quit, only to be re-appointed. He then choses the same ministers all over again.

The idea is that the cycle will keep going on (with different variations, like one where the PM will accept Lahhoud’s ministers, but the government then gets a no-confidence vote from the anti-Lahhoud majority), until the country gets into an impasse and a government crisis, which will be squarely blamed on the president.

Supposedly, this will let the president feel so guilty he won’t be able to live with himself anymore. So he will decide to resign so that Lebanon can stand back on its feet again.

You call that a plan? I’ve seen Wile-E-Coyote come up with better ones..

The fact of the matter is, Lahhoud is here to stay and he’s getting stronger by the day. He is emboldened by the Patriarch’s refusal to kick him out, the re-appointment of Berri, the American’s increasingly bad situation in Iraq (remember John Kerry? he is starting to say: I-Told-You-So), and the election of a hardliner in Iran.

But he has to go, so please think of something better.

* To read more about the intricacies of the opposition’s plan, read Emile Khoury’s piece in Annahar (requires Arabic).
* Also, for all of you conspiracy buffs, Zayyan’s article is a must-read to wonder about the “June Mystery.” (requires Arabic).