The naming of Najib Mikati as Lebanon’s prime minister-designate comes not a moment too soon. Lebanon has been in political crisis since February when the former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was assassinated. This has been the country’s most difficult period since the civil war of the mid-1970s. Mikati, a former government minister who was chosen two days after Omar Karami resigned when he was unable to form a new government, appears to be the right man for the job. He is backed by both the supporters as well as the opponents of Syria’s influence in Lebanon — not an easy balancing act. He has achieved this feat by pledging to meet some of the opposition’s demands. There is now a Syrian pledge to withdraw and an international inquiry into the killing of Hariri.
The result is a smoother road for Mikati and the Lebanese, especially as they head for parliamentary elections in May. The president, Emile Lahoud, says the poll will be free and fair and that international observers will be allowed to monitor the election to ensure it remains fair. The opposition expects to win the election which will end Syria’s hold on the Lebanese Parliament. However, a special Lebanon-Syria relationship and special security cooperation between the two on an equal, bilateral level could now evolve for even when Syria withdraws, it will still constitute an extraordinarily important ally of Lebanon.
Besides dealing with the elections and Syria, Mikati must also deal with the disarming of Hezbollah, which UN Resolution 1559 calls for. Hezbollah liberated the south from Israeli occupation and consequently, says the international community, its days as a group of resistance are more or less over.
Mikati must also put high on the agenda the rebuilding of Lebanon’s economy and its regional and international standing, both of which greatly depend on the forthcoming vote. There are doubts whether the elections will be held on schedule but there is no Lebanese precedent for the all-out cancellations of elections. They may be postponed but not altogether scrapped.
In the meantime, Mikati has called on politicians to put aside their differences and seize the moment, to make the government successful. His calls have apparently been heard and acted upon. Hariri’s sister met with Lahoud for the first time since her brother’s death, to back Mikati. The gesture is significant; Hariri’s family accused the Beirut government of complicity in his death. In addition, Lahoud and Mikati are pro-Syrian; Hariri was a staunch critic of the Syrian presence in Lebanon. In further signs of reconciliation, Druze overlord Walid Jumblatt met for the first time with former wartime arch foe, exiled Christian leader Michel Aoun who agreed with Jumblatt to join the next government.
A new government will be able to respond to the needs of the people and those in positions of political responsibility. That will only come about through fair and just elections, transparent and free of outside interference or meddling.
