The head of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), Gebran Bassil. (Credit: NNA)
The Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) fiercely criticized the government of Nawaf Salam, accusing it of failing to initiate any of the essential reforms needed to revive the country — nearly six years after the onset of a crisis that has destroyed a significant part of Lebanon’s economy and financial system.
“In the absence of any reform measures in the financial, banking and economic sectors, the government of Prime Minister Nawaf Salam is engaging in spending that exceeds the budget, without any clear policy aimed at boosting productivity. If this government continues down this path, it will lead to financial disasters that the Lebanese people will have to pay for,” said the party in a statement issued Saturday following its regular meeting, held under the chairmanship of MP Gebran Bassil.
The FPM once again lashed out at the government's decision to increase excise duties on certain fuels. These hikes were introduced to help finance support for the Lebanese Army, which is under significant pressure at the borders and is meant to help restore the state’s monopoly on arms. “The government, which once made reform and rescue its rallying cry, has now become the government of gasoline and diesel taxes, and of increasing public debt,” the party lamented.
The reforms demanded by the FPM include those required by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), with whom Lebanon is negotiating to obtain financial assistance. These reforms aim, among other things, to restructure tens of billions of dollars in debt and to clean up a banking sector that has been in technical bankruptcy since late 2019. These reforms have long been stalled — well before the formation of the current government.
It was only this past April, under pressure from the IMF and international partners, that lawmakers finally passed a law lifting banking secrecy — after having attempted to introduce amendments that would have weakened its effectiveness. Meanwhile, the banking resolution draft law remains stuck in parliamentary committee.
In its statement, the FPM also reiterated the position expressed this week by Bassil on the disarmament of Hezbollah, asserting that this process should be preceded by a complete Israeli withdrawal from the occupied positions in the South. It also reaffirmed its support for the electoral law that reserves six seats for diaspora voters — a measure that was passed but never implemented — considered by the party as a fundamental right in addition to voting in their original constituencies.
The FPM’s political council further emphasized that: “The best formula for addressing the weapons issue is the monopoly of force by the state, the only entity responsible for defending the people, the territory, and sovereignty” — on the condition, the statement says, that Israel withdraws from the remaining occupied Lebanese territories without delay, that Israeli attacks cease, and that Lebanon’s natural resources are liberated, “so that the bloodshed is not in vain.”
“All Lebanese, including supporters of the ‘resistance,’ are called upon to seize this opportunity to protect our borders and our rights: defining the southern border, demarcating the eastern and northern borders, ensuring the immediate return of displaced Syrians whose reasons for exile have completely disappeared, and resolving the issue of Palestinian refugees to prevent their permanent settlement in Lebanon. That way, everyone can feel victorious, without anyone feeling defeated,” the statement concluded.
