The government had thoroughly studied the scenario of raising VAT and the fuel tax in the presence of most of its members. The idea was to make the announcement at a late hour to lessen the risk of popular protest, thinking they could always increase contacts with various parties the next day to try to limit public displays of outrage. Even though it was aware it was making an unpopular decision, the government also knew that none of its components wanted its collapse. Field report on recent protests ‘Impoverishment policy’: Streets blocked over government-approved increases On the Lebanese Forces (LF) side, it has become a well-known tactic to approve decisions in government in order to criticize them afterwards. However, the new, unexpected element is Hezbollah’s position: It did not protest during the discussions leading up to...
The government had thoroughly studied the scenario of raising VAT and the fuel tax in the presence of most of its members. The idea was to make the announcement at a late hour to lessen the risk of popular protest, thinking they could always increase contacts with various parties the next day to try to limit public displays of outrage. Even though it was aware it was making an unpopular decision, the government also knew that none of its components wanted its collapse. Field report on recent protests ‘Impoverishment policy’: Streets blocked over government-approved increases On the Lebanese Forces (LF) side, it has become a well-known tactic to approve decisions in government in order to criticize them afterwards. However, the new, unexpected element is Hezbollah’s position: It did not protest during the discussions leading up...
