The votes have been counted, the results have been reported, and the triumphant victory speeches have been delivered. Now the real work begins.
As the pro-March 14 celebrations are dying down around Lebanon- as well as Washington and Riyadh- the nation’s politicians are gearing up for the next battle. Saad Hariri and his Sunni and Christian allies may have come out on top, but if Lebanon’s is going to have any hope of an effective government, its leaders are going to have to find a way to work together.
Since the last election in 2005, Lebanon’s government has been deadlocked in a battle between March 8 and March 14 forces. As a result, very little has been accomplished under President Michel Sleiman, and relations between the main factions have been strained.
Tensions boiled over in May of 2008 when Prime Minister Faud Saniora led an effort to dismantle Hizballah’s communications system. The move proved unsuccessful, and Lebanon was thrust into its worst sectarian violence since the civil war ended.
So in the aftermath of the election, people are cautious. The Lebanese have been frustrated in their government’s inability to work together to solve the problems of the average person (like poverty, corruption, education, etc) and there is a lot of pressure to do things differently this time around.
This past week, both sides began timidly extending olive branches and expressing a desire to end the sectarian paralysis in the government.
Saad Hariri, the leader of the victorious March 14 coalition and the man expected to be the next Prime Minister, told the Associated Press that “Today, we came out with a majority and there is an extended hand to everyone,” he said. “I think what’s best for the country is we need to work on unifying all our efforts toward making sure that what we do all of us is for the benefit of the people of Lebanon.”
Hizballah expressed similar sentiments of cooperation, but cautioned the majority government against attempting anything like what it tried in May of 2008.
Hizballah deputy Naim Kassem told Reuters that his organization “will wait for what the other side offers. If it decides on a programme, a vision and a method that is different from the past and that opens new horizons, they will find us by their side,” Kassem said. “But if issues remain as before at a state of tension and monopoly (of power), then we will take a stand.”
While Hizballah’s coalition did not emerge with enough seats for a majority, among Shiites Hizballah and its ally Amal had a strong showings at the polls and cemented their influence among their constituents. March 14 may have come out on top, but Hizballah still holds many cards and the only way a new government will work effectively is through cooperation.
