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Lebanon’s Political Impasse Solved?
It all started when Emile Lahoud, former President of Lebanon’s, term ended on November 23rd 2007. After weeks of negotiations among the Maronite Christians, they still could not come to an agreement on who to elect as president. This situation is a considered a HUGE problem in Lebanon.
Long ago, a power-sharing agreement was made between several of the different factions. (yes, Lebanon is a very diverse country, with Christians, Shiites, and Sunnis) One way to balance this out, was to ensure that only a Maronite Christian could hold the position as President of Lebanon. Since that post is not filled, the predominantly sunni and shiite government now takes over that post. This marginalizes the power of the Christians in this fragile country. Last time this happened, there was a 15 year civil war going on in this country. This is how badly this situation, if prolonged, could escalate.
Michel Anoun is Hezbollah’s top choice. He has a long history in Lebanese politics. Long story short, He was the armed forces commander of Lebanese forces during their civil war until late 1990, when he was thrown into exile, and fled to France. He returned to Lebanon on May 7th 2005, where upon his return, he made it obvious he intended to make himself a lead figure in Lebanese politics. He is not a favorite of the west, as he has an alliance with Hezbollah.
While the infighting continues, it appears there is one candidate who may win by consensus. General Michel Suleiman. He is currently the commander of the Lebanese armed forces, and would need a constitutional amendment to be elected as president. (Lebanon’s constitution doesn’t allow for a senior public service official to hold office) He is preferred by the west, even though Hezbollah has hinted that they wouldn’t mind him being in office either. To think, the US and Hezbollah agreeing on something? The Christian parties openly support him, and even Michel Anoun has said he would give his support to him as long as the new cabinet he creates reflects the size of his parlimentary block(which is the largest of the Christians). However, it is feared by some Lebanese that Suleiman might bring back the days of subjugation, or at least, the influence of Syria back into their local politics.
This whole election is a mess, but hopefully this will ensure a peacefully Lebanon, at least for now.
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