Where’s Lebanon Heading after Hariri’s Resignation

Hariri presented the list of his ministerial picks to the president several times and each time faced opposition from Michel Aoun, but this time he gave up his position as the prime minister-designate as a gift to his rivals, taking the Lebanese crisis to a new stage.

According to the political tradition in Lebanon, the largest Sunni party in the parliament has the right to nominate the prime minister, but after the livelihood protests of the past two years, Hariri resigned and the parliamentary majority faction elected Hassan Diab, a non-partisan and technocrat, as prime minister.

From the very beginning, Hezbollah believed that this method would not work and Lebanon still does not have the capacity to do so, but due to Hassan Diab’s honesty and expertise, he agreed with his prime ministership.

After the explosion of the port of Beirut, the same people who wanted a technocrat and supra-factional government took to the streets again and demanded the resignation of Hassan Diab (who had the least role in the problems of Lebanon and inherited the mismanagement of former prime ministers).

After that, according to the tradition, the largest Sunni party nominated Hariri for the post of Prime Minister, but he, along with France, intended to impose the cabinet on the President, contrary to the majority opinion, which Michel Aoun also demanded. he stood.

Of course, even if the president agreed, his cabinet was unlikely to win a vote of confidence in parliament.

Now that he has announced his resignation after nine months, the president seems to be trying to consult with political groups to choose a new option.

It is the way forward for Michelle Aoun; First, choosing another technocrat option like Hassan Diab, whose experience of his time showed that this path will not end.

But the second way is to turn to a Sunni politician, who is currently the most likely possible option in the Lebanese mass media to greet the former Prime Minister “Hello”. He is an independent figure who, of course, is in alliance with the future.

It should be noted that Lebanon’s internal problems, economic pressures and devastating Western sanctions will deter many prominent figures from assuming the post of Prime Minister, and it remains to be seen whether anyone will be willing to form a government in such a situation.

* Article by Alireza Taghavinia