Hariri named Lebanon's new premier, commits to French-backed reforms

Three-time Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri has been named to the post for a fourth time and immediately promised a government of technocrats committed to a French-backed reform plan.

Hariri said he would "form a cabinet of non-politically aligned experts with the mission of economic, financial and administrative reforms contained in the French initiative roadmap."

"I will work on forming a government quickly because time is running out and this is the only and last chance facing our country," he added.

Hariri resigned from the post a year ago amid nationwide protests by a public angered by widespread corruption, mismanagement of resources and a flunking economy. 

READ MORE: Lebanon PM Hariri says he will submit resignation

Sinking economy

In the year since, Lebanon’s currency sank, losing nearly 80 percent of its value, while prices, unemployment and inflation soared. Lebanese have been unable to access their savings, as banks imposed informal capital controls fearing a run on deposits.

His successor – a technocrat supported by the Hezbollah group – stepped down after the massive August 4 explosion in Beirut’s port, caused by thousands of potentially explosive chemicals that had been stored in a warehouse there for years. The blast defaced the capital, killing nearly 200 people and injuring over 6,000. The explosion is seen as further proof of an incompetent political class in charge of governing the small country since the end of its 15-year civil war in 1990.

Political wrangling

Hariri won by a simple majority on Thursday, securing a total of 65 votes out of 120 lawmakers polled by President Michel Aoun amid sharp divisions over the shape of the Cabinet Hariri is expected to form.

Aoun’s party, the Free Patriotic Movement, the largest bloc in parliament and the largest Christian party, withheld support to Hariri. Another major Christian party, formerly an ally of Hariri, has also withheld support.
The powerful Shia group Hezbollah implicitly supports Hariri’s designation to the post but refrained from voting for him to avoid appearing to be breaking ranks with its ally, Aoun’s party. 

Hariri got backing from the other Shia group, Amal, as well as the largest Sunni bloc, a small Christian party and independents.

President Aoun already delayed the consultations a week, amid signs of wrangling over his party’s role in any upcoming government.

In a speech on the eve of the consultations, Aoun signalled that he would not stop Hariri from being named prime minister but indicated he wants a bigger role in government formation. Most observers expect a rocky process.

READ MORE: Hariri's proposal to end cabinet logjam brings hope for a new government

Hariri’s return to office is rejected by protesters who had been demanding change and see him as a symbol of a political class they blame for the country’s woes.

Portending tensions ahead, protesters who took to the streets on Wednesday rejecting Hariri’s nomination were heckled by his supporters amid heavy security deployment. 

The Hariri supporters moved to the epicentre of the 2019 protests and set fire to a large fist erected there that has come to symbolise the uprising against the old political class.