Macron in Lebanon Calls For Speedy Government Formation

On Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron called for the rapid establishment of a crisis government in Lebanon after the naming of a new Prime Minister.

Speaking at his arrival at Beirut airport, Macron said a new line-up should be decided "as soon as possible" to rescue the country, which is reeling from the deadly August 4 port explosion and the consequences of a downturn in the economy.

It is the second such visit by Macron to drive home the need for a reform of Lebanon's complicated sectarian political structure, as the giant blast that killed 188, wounded thousands, and destroyed vast parts of Beirut.

He landed at the airport just hours after underfire leaders named a new prime minister, diplomat Mustapha Adib, to resolve the severe political and economic turmoil in the country on Monday.

Immediately after his nomination, Adib, 48, gave a televised speech acknowledging the “need to form a government in record time and to begin implementing reforms immediately”.

He promised to resume negotiations for assistance with the International Monetary Fund as Lebanon faced the worst economic crisis since the civil war of 1975-1990, and was left traumatized by the explosion of August 4th.

“I want your trust,” an AFP correspondent heard Adib tell a resident of the Gemmayzeh neighbourhood, badly hit by the port blast.

Macron, who visited the same region on 6 August, arrived Monday in Lebanon to review progress as he returned for the centenary of Lebanon, promised to be a glum commemoration.

--  Legion of Honour–

On 1 September 1920, the French mandate authority declared the establishment of Greater Lebanon.

Many people decided to flee the country on the eve of the centenary, and wondered if Lebanon would continue to be 101.

The French President kicked off his two-day trip by calling on 85-year-old Fairuz, the last living singing sensation in the Arab world and a remarkable sign of national unity in the country battered by the crisis.

He rewarded the artist with the French Legion of Honor and she gave him a painting during what he told Lebanese television was a "very touching" moment, the National News Agency reported.

He then met with former prime minister Saad Hariri at the French ambassador's Ottoman-era home, from whose porch he declared Greater Lebanon 100 years earlier.

On Sunday both President Michel Aoun and his political ally, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, expressed commitment to reform the manner in which Lebanon is ruled.

The 85-year-old Aoun, a hate figure at the large protest camp in Lebanon that treats him as deaf to demands for reform, also urged a secular state to be declared.

Within the political structure of Lebanon, the prime minister must be a Sunni, the presidency is reserved for a Christian Maronite and the post of parliamentary speaker goes to a Shiite.

There was widespread speculation that Lebanon's long-serving political heavyweights just paid lip service to change ahead of Macron's visit.

“When the political class talks about the introduction of the civil state, it reminds me of the devil talking about virtue, it doesn’t make sense,” said Hilal Khashan, a political science professor at the American University of Beirut.

Adib’s designation “will not usher in a new period in Lebanese history and I don’t think it will put Lebanon on the road of genuine political development,” he said.

– ‘Man of the system’ –

Sunday, Adib emerged as a compromise choice and was elected premier the next day in a statement from the presidency.

Former Prime Minister Najib Mikati 's close aide obtained endorsements from top political parties in the region.

Lebanon's last cabinet, headed by Hassan Diab, resigned after the massive explosion which rekindled calls for a radical state revamp at home and abroad.

Caused by a large stockpile of ammonium nitrate that had languished for years at Beirut's port, the explosion was widely blamed on negligence and corruption by government.

The blast caused up to $4.6 billion worth of physical damage and a blow to the economic activity of up to $3.5 billion, according to a World Bank assessment.

The IMF Monday voiced “hope that a new government will be formed shortly with a mandate to implement the policies and reforms that Lebanon needs to address the current crisis.”

Those who took to the streets in mass demonstrations against the entire political elite since last October had already dismissed any name that could come up on Monday.

While assurances of reform, the process of establishing a new government meets the same pattern that has mired Lebanon permanently in a political impasse.

Social media users challenged whether Adib's current government would be any more successful than Diab's, which was created in January but could not bring the country out of crisis.

Analyst Nadim Houry said Adib was “part of the professional advisors class that orbit around Lebanon’s oligarchs.”

“He is a man of the system,” he said.