The shattered political system in Lebanon is getting another battering from its people as a 28th round of voting due to find a president shows how dysfunctional it has become. Over the past month, the furious population has taken the issue of the failure to collect the rubbish as not only a symbol of the government’s inability to provide other basic services such as electricity and water, but also as a way to express their anger against the persistent political corruption that people see as part of the failure of politicians to care for their people, as they only look after themselves.
Tens of thousands took to the streets to protest the piling rubbish. The protest turned violent when security forces used tear gas shells and water cannons in central Beirut. A few days ago, protesters occupied the Ministry of Environment, forcing the embarrassed minister to scurry out from the back door.
Lebanon cannot afford to let itself sink into chaos. It is false optimism to argue that the current political impasse does not matter because it can continue to muddle through as it has done for years. The people are right to demand more responsibility from their politicians because they see that unless they get a coherent government their country will steadily continue to drift into poverty, chaos and incoherence. Such a situation is exactly what the religious extremists are waiting for and they will be quick to take advantage and establish themselves in the political mix of militias and strongmen that Lebanon has struggled to escape in the aftermath of its bitter civil war.
