The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said on Sunday that the essence of the government crisis in Lebanon stems from the Lebanese leaders’ jostling for power, urging them to put aside their differences and form a government, or risk complete financial collapse and sanctions.
Borrell added – in statements after talks with Lebanese President Michel Aoun, Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri – that he sent a clear message that some leaders may face sanctions if they continue to block steps aimed at forming a new government and implementing reforms.
He said that the country is facing big financial problems, and in order to solve the economic crisis they need a government, “Any ship in the midst of a storm needs a captain and a team for the system to work, otherwise it will be doomed to sink.”
“Obviously
Borrell made it clear that Lebanon needs a government with technical capabilities and real authority to avoid the failure of the outgoing government of Hassan Diab, which he said presented a sound financial reform plan, but politicians put obstacles in front of it.
Some European Union countries – led by France – have threatened to impose sanctions in an attempt to push politicians to end the stalemate.
An EU diplomatic note showed that the criteria for imposing sanctions would likely be corruption, obstruction of government formation efforts, financial mismanagement and human rights abuses.
A government headed by Hariri
Meanwhile, Gibran Bassil, the leader of the Free Patriotic Movement (the largest Christian bloc and the largest Christian political party in Lebanon) said on Sunday that he still wanted Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri to form a new government, and held his political opponents responsible for the political stalemate that the country has been experiencing for months. .
Bassil called on Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah to intervene, and said, “I want the assistance of a friend who is His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah (…) I want him as a judge and I trust him on the matter. He knows that we have given up on the issue of the government about many things.”
Lebanon’s politicians differ over the formation of the new government since the resignation of the current government in the wake of the massive explosion in the port of Beirut in August 2020, which led to the deterioration of the economic crisis.
The political stalemate has prevented Lebanon from initiating reforms that potential donors insist on as a precondition for any aid.