Lebanese protesters burn tires and wave their national flag during a demonstration against the disastrous economic situation, on Oct. 17, 2019, on a highway connecting the capital Beirut to the city of Tripoli in the north of the country. (Credit: Joseph Eid/AFP)
White roses in hand, fists raised, smiles on their faces. Just days after the May 2022 parliamentary elections, the 13 newly elected MPs from the Oct. 17 protest movement were welcomed with fanfare on Marcel Ghanem’s show Sar al-Waet on MTV. It was a display of unity among these new faces of Lebanese politics, celebrating their electoral breakthrough and the hopes of those who saw them as a genuine alternative to the ruling class.Four years later, the contrast is striking. During the Sept. 15 and 16 parliamentary debates on the Salam government’s record, MP Mark Daou reaffirmed his support for the government and called for the state to establish its monopoly on arms. His colleague Elias Jaradeh, by contrast, focused primarily on denouncing Israeli pressure, while Halime Kaakour adopted a “neither-nor” stance, condemning “foreign...
White roses in hand, fists raised, smiles on their faces. Just days after the May 2022 parliamentary elections, the 13 newly elected MPs from the Oct. 17 protest movement were welcomed with fanfare on Marcel Ghanem’s show Sar al-Waet on MTV. It was a display of unity among these new faces of Lebanese politics, celebrating their electoral breakthrough and the hopes of those who saw them as a genuine alternative to the ruling class.Four years later, the contrast is striking. During the Sept. 15 and 16 parliamentary debates on the Salam government’s record, MP Mark Daou reaffirmed his support for the government and called for the state to establish its monopoly on arms. His colleague Elias Jaradeh, by contrast, focused primarily on denouncing Israeli pressure, while Halime Kaakour adopted a “neither-nor” stance, condemning...