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EDITORIAL

The return of 'Lebanese ways'

Of all the ills afflicting Lebanon, our inexhaustible capacity for denial, both individual and collective, is perhaps the most worrying. At times, it’s framed as resilience, even though the term has been drained of meaning. But more often than not, it’s more than that: it's a willingness to distort reality to avoid confronting it. It’s a form of self-persuasion that we’re so clever, so ahead of everything and everyone else, that what holds true for others doesn’t apply to us.

Hezbollah, in this respect, is the undisputed champion. The party dragged the country into a destructive war, yet continues to claim it protected the nation, even asserting that it won the war. But the rest of the country — so quick to mock the grotesque self-aggrandizement of the self-proclaimed "Party of God" — is hardly any better.

We have lived through one of the worst financial crises in history, one of the largest non-nuclear explosions ever, and yet another war as absurd as it was devastating, all without learning a single lesson. Things are moving, but too slowly, too little. The myths on which this country has been built for decades — those surrounding the banking system and the so-called "resistance" — have collapsed. Yet, a large proportion of us (not always the same people) refuse to even acknowledge this fact.

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Thirteen years later, Joumblatt returns to the 'new Syria'

The region is reshaping itself, but Lebanon is once again missing out on history. It remains so focused on itself, on petty calculations and on its own Lebanese ways, that it fails to understand — with the notable exception of Walid Joumblatt — that whatever one thinks of Ahmad al-Sharaa, Syria’s new strongman, it was essential to visit Damascus without delay. It was vital to repair relations between the two countries, to reconnect Beirut with the rest of the Arab world, and, for once, to not simply be the receptacle of regional dynamics, but to help shape them. Lebanon still has assets — far from negligible ones — but we fail to use them effectively.

After a black year, a year of devastation, we have a historic opportunity — a term that is not an exaggeration — to rebuild the country on a much more solid foundation. The fall of the Syrian regime and the collapse of the 'Axis of Resistance' have broken down the greatest obstacles to any possibility of change. But for this change to occur, in the interest of all the Lebanese people, Hezbollah would need to completely abandon its hubris, and the anti-Hezbollah forces would need to come up with something smart and inclusive. We are still a thousand miles away from that. The Kataeb, for the moment, are the only ones who have taken a serious step in that direction. 

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There’s no turning back for Lebanon and the Middle East

Nothing reveals the imperviousness of our political class to change more than the pathetic — and no less amusing — spectacle we are witnessing just days before the presidential election. The country is in ruins. The population is at the end of its rope. But in everyone’s living rooms, they continue to play that same game that the Lebanese zaim (political leader) masters better than anyone — the only game in which their opinions still matter: the art of dissimulation and lame compromises.

Everyone seems to be having a great time. The Hezbollah-Amal alliance is blocking the election of Joseph Aoun, the overwhelming favorite candidate, supported by the entire international community; Gebran Bassil suddenly finds qualities in Samir Geagea; the latter sees himself as the country's new savior; and the opposition can’t agree on a candidate.

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Riyadh no longer conceals its support for Aoun, will Amal-Hezbollah yield?

With Joseph Aoun and Jihad Azour, we finally have two credible candidates who seem up to the challenge. The first represents stability, while the second embodies openness. Because the former scares everyone, the latter still has a small chance of winning. But our zaims (leaders) are still capable of electing neither of these two men next Thursday and, — although it seems highly unlikely — they may even fail to agree on another name.

Lebanon needs a president, but no president will save Lebanon. This is just one crucial step in fortifying a nation that has been crumbling for far too long. In a few weeks, we will mark the 50th anniversary of the start of the Civil War. Five decades on, are we finally capable of facing history and breaking free from our denial?

This article was originally published in French in L'Orient Le-Jour. 

Of all the ills afflicting Lebanon, our inexhaustible capacity for denial, both individual and collective, is perhaps the most worrying. At times, it’s framed as resilience, even though the term has been drained of meaning. But more often than not, it’s more than that: it's a willingness to distort reality to avoid confronting it. It’s a form of self-persuasion that we’re so clever, so...