FEW Lebanese politicians have weathered their country’s rolling political storms better than Michel Aoun. The 81-year-old rose from warlord to military commander to prime minister at the end of the country’s lengthy civil war, before Syrian warplanes bombed him into exile in 1990. Having made peace with his former enemies, he returned years later to lead the most powerful Christian party in Lebanon. On October 31st he became the country’s 13th president.
It has taken Lebanon more than two years and 45 failed attempts to elect a president. The political deadlock has paralysed decision-making and crippled basic services in a country already buckling under the strain of 1m Syrian refugees. It has also exposed the clunky inadequacies of Lebanon’s political system.
When it was first carved out of the crumbling Ottoman empire, Lebanon was intended as a haven for Christians in the Middle East. Their numbers have since dwindled after decades of war, emigration and low birth rates. But their political clout remains. Half of the seats in parliament are reserved for Christians, a number pegged to a national census conducted in 1932 when...Continue reading
Source: Middle East and Africa http://ift.tt/2flqF6w
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