Seizing the Lebanese state

Hanin Ghaddar
NOW Lebanon
19 May '10

A new campaign against Lebanese state institutions is underway. This time the target is Finance Minister Raya al-Hassan’s proposed budget for 2010. The cabinet met last week to discuss the 2010 draft budget, but as expected, it was not adopted, with March 8 and opposition media calling it “unconstitutional,” “amputated” and “full of childish games.” There are now fears that the budget will be used as another stalling vehicle. The budget itself is not the issue; rather it is a peg upon which to hang a paralyzed cabinet that cannot make any real decisions while it still wears the mantle of “national-unity government.” This is all Hezbollah and its sponsors need.

It is a strategy that has prevailed since the Doha Accord was signed in the wake of the May 2008 violence that attempted to bring down the government of Fouad Siniora and brought about an interim “unity” cabinet. Under the same threat of arms, a similar government was railroaded through in 2009. The result is that, without a shot being fired or an ideology imposed, Hezbollah has de facto control of Lebanon. It hides behind the facade of state institutions, but in reality is a state-within-the-state.

There is, however, a fly in Hezbollah’s ointment: Trends in the recent municipal elections in South Lebanon have shown that, while Hezbollah may have achieved political control, its influence within inter-family dynamics is marginal.

But first, what does Hezbollah want from Lebanon? The Party of God does not want an Islamic state. That would make it an easy target. Instead, it is easier for Hezbollah to whip up the masses by pointing to the poor performance of the Hariri government while not having to offer solutions or alternatives to the country’s social and economic problems.

This is because its agenda is strictly political. After the Syrian army’s withdrawal in 2005, Hezbollah stepped in and rallied the pro-Syrian camp against a March 14 movement that threatened to revive state institutions and ensure genuine national sovereignty.

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