A Season for Reforms in Lebanon, or is it Business as Unusual?

Official Lebanon has long been characterized by a murky opacity and the absence of willingness or even ability to communicate effectively with the general population. This lack of transparency coupled with a haughty and dismissive attitude towards the general pop. on the part of government officials of all ranks, has allowed rumor to take the place of fact and suspicion and mistrust to take the place of trust. This broken trust between the governing and the governed in Lebanon cannot be heeled by imposing the will of the central government through pronouncements from on high, not all things are as simple as that, even if that will be representative of the will of the voters and a general desire to see the country move forward and prosper. Obstruction sometimes is an invitation to stop and think on the next move before taking it, it’s not always a mad desire to see a country’s progress hobbled.

It is my assertion that there has never been a sincere effort to be honest with voters by any Lebanese government, the archaic structure of which hasn’t changed much since independence in 1943. In fact, we still have laws on the books that contradict modern values of free speech and expression, freedom of worship and control over one’s own body. It is this antiquated authoritarian attitude by government that most Lebanese who are going down into the streets to protest find intolerably patronizing and parochial. The State seems determined to lay down the law while many of its component parts have over the decades ignored even broken those same laws. An absence of transparency coupled with a well-entrenched belief in the minds of the people that “all” in government are corrupt plus the government’s haughty attitude places recent protests into a more understandable context. 

Now we come to the much talked about and anticipated reforms and the government 2019 budget. The urgency today is to cut government spending and increase revenue. The problem is, and most people recognize this, nearly every political party in parliament is represented in government. All parties in Lebanon to some degree have lore swirling around them, whether justly or not, of suspicion of corruption and nearly none have done any spring cleaning of late to root out corrupt elements if any exist, and if they have its hasn’t been made public, no announcements were made, no arrests, no prosecutions. Each party claims to be clean, not besmirched by even the tiniest hint of corrupt practice. I’m sure all citizens will be happy to hear that, except, we know there has been and probably continues to be serious waste and loss in government and in government run public corporations like the power utility. This is not lore, but based on cringe worthy facts and figures. So, who is responsible and why hasn’t this government that claims to sincerely want to combat corruption and end waste not done anything to point a damning finger at persons responsible?

The simple answer is, how could they be so clear when clarity is what they wish to avoid. The unbelievable political coalition of convenience that is today our government is filled with representatives of political movements, parties and special interests that have long profited from the lax enforcement of rules and the total absence of accountability. In medical terms, our public sphere has been a rich agar in the Petri dish of state that has allowed the most virulent forms of corruption to prosper and thrive. 

Any attempt by any component of this Cabinet to shine a light on any alleged corrupt practices of another component of this Cabinet will invariably find a light shined back in its face. In essence the Cabinet room must be a very well-lit place, the only place where frank discussions bordering on direct veiled threats are taking place right now. I wouldn’t want to be the janitor who sweeps up after that lot…!

For as long as anyone can remember clarity has been the one thing government in Lebanon and those in power have sought to avoid. But now, as the need for immediate and genuine reforms and transparency about how government conducts its business gets more urgent with every passing day, can obfuscation still work and pass muster with donor states? Will we get the promised monies of CEDRE by a mere cosmetic refurbishment of the creaking Ship of State or do we need a major national project to place the leaky tub in dry dock for a major refit? I know, I dazzle even myself with the excessive use of metaphors, but bear with me, after all I live in a country where journalists have to be careful in choosing their words, the wrong adjective or reference here or there could wind you in the clink! 

As we approach the much-anticipated release date of the 2019 budget, there is now talk of separating the passing of the budget from the passing of reforms, or so the LBCI news reader said Saturday in the editorial intro to the news. Simply put, we get a budget first, then reforms, with proposed reforms referred to committee. I am a big fan of Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister, and I know from watching those shows that committees usually take a very long time to chew things over. Could this be the first sign that the long awaited reforms maybe pushed even further into the future, some distant future when another government can deal with the mess? 

I am very skeptical that genuine reforms are possible in the current political atmosphere. I believe a major seismic shift in the region would be needed and possibly a major social upheaval and new social contract drawn up with an entirely new structure of government before any genuine positive change can take place in Lebanon, and maybe not even then. But I am an eternal pessimist, unwilling to believe in fairytales.