WHO DO THEY THINK THEY ARE, ITALY?

Lebanon politics: Karami chameleon (THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT, 3/10/05)

Omar Karami, who has been called on to form a new Lebanese government, is seeking to re-invent himself as a standard-bearer for national unity. However, he has not expressed much confidence in his ability to play this role, and he may have little option but to resign for the second time in the space of a few weeks. The widening divisions in Lebanese politics raise questions over the feasibility of holding parliamentary elections in May, as had been planned before the assassination of Rafiq al-Hariri. [...]

The re-appointment of Mr Karami has also exposed the opposition’s lack of effective leadership. The president, Emile Lahoud, asked Mr Karami to form the new government after 71 of the 128 MPs expressed their support for him in a parliamentary consultation. The opposition was confined to the surviving members of Mr Hariri’s bloc and the 29 MPs who voted against the extension of Mr Lahoud’s term last September. Eight MPs were absent. There were no other nominees for the post, which is reserved for a Sunni Muslim.

That's one of the things that will have to change.

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Which way will Lebanon go next?: Ten days after stepping down, pro-Syrian Prime Minister Omar Karami was reappointed Thursday. (Nicholas Blanford, 3/11/05, CS Monitor)

His reappointment came after consultations on Wednesday between Lebanese President Emile Lahoud and members of the 128-seat parliament. Negotiations are under way to form a new government, although there are not many candidates for the vacancies. Some of the ministers of the outgoing government reportedly have declined to return to their posts.

Even Mr. Karami was reluctant to resume the premiership, analysts say. Karami, a relatively inexperienced politician, will be faced with balancing Syrian desires to remain a power broker in Lebanon, despite the current withdrawal of its troops, and demands from the opposition and the international community for free and fair elections and an end to Syrian domination.

"The only way to confront all the difficulties facing the nation is a government of national unity," Karami said. "If there is any procrastination in responding to this invitation, it means we're heading to destruction."

But the Lebanese opposition is refusing to participate in a new government until key demands are met, such as the removal of Lebanon's top security chiefs and the withdrawal of all Syrian forces.

"There will be a situation where a naked skeleton of security services, Lebanese and Syrian, will face a country in rebellion," says Simon Karam, a former Lebanese ambassador to Washington and an opposition leader. "The peaceful demonstrations will continue ... and we will deprive the government of any legitimacy."

But the prospect of a weak government and a continuation of the crisis spells a period of political and economic paralysis, analysts say.

Posted by Orrin Judd at March 11, 2005 12:00 AM