Lebanese lawmakers on Tuesday re-elected Nabih Berri as parliamentary speaker for a seventh consecutive term, cementing the octogenarian politician’s reputation as an “untouchable” figure in Lebanese politics. FRANCE 24 profiled the controversial politician on May 19, 2022.
On October 14, 2021, residents of Beirut were shaken by deadly armed clashes right by the birthplace of Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war.
Six people were killed as rival gunmen fired at each other while residents cowered, schoolchildren dashed for safety, and the city froze with a heightened awareness that Lebanon remains just a hair’s breadth away from all-out sectarian conflict.
The October clashes erupted when a protest by two Lebanese Shiite parties – Hezbollah and Amal – arrived at the Tayouneh roundabout, which links the Christian neighbourhood of Ain El Remmaneh with the Shiite stronghold of Chiyah.
Today, the two rival camps are critical actors in Lebanon’s next political steps following Sunday’s parliamentary elections. At stake is the future of a country in the grips of a devastating economic crisis, which requires an IMF bailout, which in turn needs a functioning government.
The results of Sunday’s vote were encapsulated in headlines this week proclaiming, “Hezbollah and its allies lose parliamentary majority”. News stories hailed the record 13 seats won by reform-minded political newcomers entering a system of entrenched parties and interests.
But the after-party celebrations have been subdued with the glum reckoning that Sunday’s vote has set the stage for a round of backroom dealings and deadlocks at best – or violence at worst.
In the absence of an outright majority in Lebanon’s 128-seat parliament, the largest blocs in the new parliament are the two camps that faced off and traded accusations at the Tayouneh roundabout last year.
The 2022 vote may have heralded…
Source : france24
