Status: 07/26/2021 6:14 p.m.
It is already the third attempt to form a government in Lebanon: The billionaire Mikati has been appointed as the new prime minister. However, it remains to be seen whether he will succeed in forming a government.
A billionaire is supposed to lead Lebanon out of its existential financial and economic crisis: President Michel Aoun appointed businessman Najib Mikati as prime minister. Aoun had previously held binding consultations with MPs, in which Mikati secured a majority of the votes in parliament.
The Sunni Muslim Mikati, who was Prime Minister in 2005 and from 2011 to 2013, is supported by most political parties, including the Shiite Hezbollah. As one of the richest men in the country, he is also considered a member of the establishment that is responsible for Lebanon’s collapse into bankruptcy. He has now received his third government-building contract since the devastating explosion in Beirut last August.
State offices are assigned according to religious affiliation
Whether Mikati will succeed in forming a government is an open question. Opposition strikes against him from Christian parties. The highest state offices in Lebanon are assigned according to religious affiliation: the state president must be a Christian, the prime minister a Sunni and the parliamentary president a Shiite Muslim.
After the disaster of the explosion, the government of Prime Minister Hassan Diab resigned. Since neither the former ambassador to Germany, Mustafa Adib, nor Saad Hariri were able to form a government, they remained in office.
Lebanese President Aoun orders the formation of a government
Björn Blaschke, ARD Cairo, July 26, 2021 6:21 p.m.