July 4, 2008 3:43

Time Out For Lebanon's Government

Yet another sign that Beirut is on its way back: the re-launch today of Time Out Beirut, a local spin-off of the Time Out global listing and events magazines. Time Out Beirut took a little time out during the 2006 war with Israel, which broke out just a few issues after the publication's original launch. Then one thing after another -- jihadi uprisings, assassinations, mini-civil wars, and other stuff that makes party planning difficult -- kept it shut until now.

The relaunch caught the start of the summer season, when Lebanon holds its music festivals at various stunning locations including a Roman temple complex in the Bekaa valley, a crusader fortress by the sea, and an Ottoman palace in the mountains. But the fun hasn't quite started in earnest. For one thing, there has yet to be the usual massive influx of wealthy Gulf tourists. The Gulfies -- unlike most Europeans and Americans for whom Beirut is still a byword for urban warfare -- are usually pretty good at reading the Lebanese scene. They disappear when things get nasty, but return soon after the dust settles.

What's holding some of the Gulfies back now is the fact that the feuding Lebanese political parties have still not formed a new government. That should have been done soon after the election by parliament of former army commander Michael Sulieman as president in late May, as called for in the Doha agreement that was supposed to have settled the sporadically violent Lebanese political crisis.

But yet again, Lebanese politicians are proving just how irresponsible they are and have failed to come to an agreement on the distribution of cabinet seats. In Doha the two sides agreed that the Hizballah-led opposition should have more seats in the Cabinet, but now they can't decide who gets what ministry. It seems that much of the trouble stems from Christian opposition leader Michael Aoun, who's own own presidential ambitions give him an interest in seeing the Sulieman presidency fail. But it also appears that the United States hasn't learned its lesson, and is still interfering in Lebanese politics, trying to keep the security related ministries -- Defense and Interior -- out of the hand of the Hizballah led-opposition.

But the chances of these disagreements spilling into the streets again soon seems slim. For one thing, Lebanon's fate is now tied as much to regional and global events -- the growing power of Iran, the war in Iraq, etc -- that all seem dependent on the American presidential election that won't occur until November. For another, there'd be a public backlash against any group that ruined the country's badly needed summer tourist season. And at least for now, Lebanese have figured out how to carry on in the absence of a government. Even when the country has one it barely works.

--Andrew Lee Butters/Beirut