Lebanon, forced to form a government in order to count on international aid

The street protests caused by the economic collapse of the Lebanese pound are not the only headaches Lebanon is facing. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has put on the table the urgent need to form a new government to take control of the country in order to implement an aid project to boost the economy of the Lebanese state. The IMF's own spokesman, Gerry Rice, stated in an official communiqué that measures must be taken as soon as possible and that "much-needed economic reforms must be implemented to get the country out of its financial crisis". However, they demand the formation of an executive in order to be able to carry out the aid without which Lebanon is doomed to ruin. 

The causes of a collapse such as the one Lebanon is going through are never simple. The blame cannot be laid solely at the door of the collapse of the local currency. Indeed, it is probably corruption and waste scandals that have led to the dire situation. Not to mention, of course, the controversy that still surrounds the Beirut explosion, which is still under investigation seven months later, and it does not seem that the solution to the many unknowns that still exist will be resolved in the very near future. The scandal surrounding the devastating incident that killed 210 people remains a major issue in the country which, it should be recalled, took the Prime Minister Diab and his entire government with it, one of the triggers of the catastrophic phase Lebanon is facing.  

Debts are suffocating a country whose citizens are flooding the streets with protests and chaos day in and day out, demanding minimally dignified economic conditions. The spokesman for the International Monetary Fund has stressed that all aid will be little, but that it will not become a reality without the formation of a new government: "It is necessary to form a new government immediately, with a strong mandate to implement the necessary reforms". Although there are no talks between the IMF and Beirut at the moment, initial contacts began in May last year for Lebanon to obtain financing based on an economic plan drawn up by the government then led by Prime Minister Hassan Diab. 

They did not even need to wait for the Beirut port explosion to end the talks. On 3 July, almost two months earlier, they ceased all negotiations in connection with, according to the IMF, internal disputes between Lebanese representatives over the reforms they were planning to carry out. This, coupled with the Beirut catastrophe, ended any hope of reaching a point of agreement. Now, they hope to find the middle ground they were far from finding in the past. But without the prior formation of a government, Lebanon's needs will remain unmet.  

Since the explosion in Lebanon's capital, the repercussions have been felt at every possible level. The first consequences came only a few days later with the resignation of Diab, which has left a country that is now going through its worst moments. The current impasse in the Lebanese state represents a crossroads of the highest complexity. The confrontation between the prime minister, Saad Hariri, and the president, Michel Aoun, is keeping a strangled society on tenterhooks. Their meeting at the Baabda Palace on Monday was not very fruitful and the prime minister said that the "list is unacceptable. The prime minister's job is not just to complete a document that is sent to him," adding that the Lebanese constitution "stipulates that the prime minister must designate who forms his government and give the names (of ministers) before discussing them with the president. 

For his part, President Aoun said in an official statement that he "sent the prime minister-designate a document indicating only the methodology of training the cabinet and comprising four pillars", thus downplaying the importance of providing specific names. Aoun himself has repeatedly stated that if Hariri fails to form a government - something for which the president himself would bear much of the responsibility if it does not happen - he should resign from his post, even though he has only been Lebanon's prime minister since October. The confrontation between the two leaves a situation that does not invite optimism, and one that the International Monetary Fund is beginning to tire of as it sees no resolution in sight. 

The fall of the Lebanese pound continues, reaching 15,000 pounds to the dollar on the black market.  This decline represents the biggest crisis the country has experienced since the civil war (1975-1990) and represents a loss of 90% of its value in a period of less than a year. Street protests over the depreciation of the Lebanese pound continue to claim lives on a daily basis. The situation of extreme poverty has increased dramatically in recent months, and the threats to Lebanese imports are compounded by the obvious shortage of dollars. 

While the IMF awaits the formation of a government that will make it possible for aid to reach Lebanon, countries such as the United States are actively showing their support for what for now seems impossible to become a reality in the near future. Last Thursday, Joe Biden's ambassador to Beirut, Dorothy Shea, joined a group of foreign officials who called on the country's two top leaders to put aside their differences in order to at least be able to receive financial aid from the International Monetary Fund. However, the situation remains deadlocked and the outlook for a possible agreement is increasingly pessimistic.