BDL governorship: A looming showdown between Aoun and Salam?

Contrary to recent expectations, the Cabinet is not expected to meet this Friday at the request of President Joseph Aoun to tackle one of the most sensitive and high-stakes state-level appointments: the governorship of the Banque du Liban (BDL), left vacant since Riad Salameh’s departure and Wassim Manssouri’s interim appointment.Although the issue was not addressed during yesterday’s session, and the name of fund manager Karim Souaid has been on everyone’s lips in recent weeks, the outcome now seems far from decided as the final moment approaches. Read more BDL governance: How Karim Souaid became the frontrunner The reason: after weeks of lobbying campaigns — some subtle, others more overt — and discrediting attempts among various candidates and their allies, the process appears to be taking a new turn. For the first time since...