Lebanon is in a long, slouching, slow-moving disaster. Like a mud slide that gains momentum over time. The country has a political system that is broken and is a country divided along sectarian lines. Lebanon also has an armed state within a state called Hezbollah that siphons off cash, plays a role in security, carries out extrajudicial assassinations and increasingly operates a parallel network of health, banking, construction and even supermarket services. These factors have hollowed out Lebanon, leaving it as an empty shell.
With all that, the current crisis is over fuel prices and declines in exchange rates. According to Al-Jazeera “the cash-strapped country would now import fuel at 3,900 Lebanese pounds to the dollar, as opposed to 1,500. A ministerial source told Al-Jazeera the price of a tank of petrol could almost double. The decision was made following a meeting last week between President Michel Aoun, central bank Governor Riad Salameh, caretaker Energy Minister Raymond Ghajar, and caretaker Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni at Baabda Palace.”
Meanwhile the European Union’s top diplomat has slammed Lebanese politicians for delays in forming a new government. Sanctions could come soon. Hariri, who has failed so far to form a government, received support from his Sunni constituents again in recent days. The Supreme Islamic Sharia Council, “which represents the Sunni community and its leaders in Lebanon, has renewed its support for Saad Hariri, the prime minister-designate, amid an escalating dispute over the failure to form a government in the country,” Arab News reported. READ MORE