Alwaght- Beirut's explosion, like a deafening slap in the face of the country's political upheaval, has weighed heavily on the country which has been in crisis for years. The resignation of the new government of Hassan Diab, the beginning of a new round of conflict between the political groups of the country over the formation of the cabinet, the downturn of the economic outlook and the intensification of foreign interventions that have not yet fully revealed their effects has come to Lebanon becoming a country with multiple identities causing disagreements towards its national interests. Lebanon's historical past has shown that the grand deal for the new engineering of power in its identity mosaic has inevitably crossed the crisis line, such as The Taif Agreement in the 1990s to shape the government after a bloody 15-year civil war, or the assassination of Rafiq Hariri in 2006 which led to the Syrian army departing the country. The discussion that can be focused on regarding the Beirut port explosion can be noted as unexplained and suspicious due to questions of the case remaining unanswered, and the existence of signs of a possible sabotage, can be defined to such an extent that actors behind the scenes have been involved in the employment of this devastating tragedy.
Meanwhile, one of the most important developments done in recent days, which could help find the key to understanding the equation at hand, is the announcement of the candidacy of Saad Hariri, the Head of al-Mustaqbal Party, and the March 14 movement, to accept the post of Prime Minister by setting conditions for other political sides in the country. Based on this analysis and by putting together the pieces of the puzzle of current developments, it can be understood that the events in Lebanon were not just unrelated events, but the product of a complex and engineered scenario to bring the developments of the country to the present point.
In last year’s protests when the Lebanese people took to the streets to improve economic conditions and fight corruption, Saad Hariri, who was the Prime Minister at the time, announced his resignation and placed the condition for the formation of a technocratic government to circumvent the results of the 2018 parliamentary elections that was of benefit to the resistance.
Although at this stage Hariri considered himself as the only candidate to have the opportunity to regain the post as Prime Minister, the plan failed due to the ability of the March 8 Alliance to convene other political parties of the parliament to form a new cabinet with Prime Minister Hassan Diab. In the short term of Diab's presidency, in addition to the non-participation and cooperation of the al-Mustaqbal Party including various domestic sabotages, Diab also faced external obstacles, such as US sanctions, and the non-compliance of the French-led Cedar Group to fulfill its financial aid commitments to Lebanon. Nonetheless, Diab remained determined to push through reform of the economic structure and fight corruption to get through the crisis until the explosion in the port of Beirut marked the end of his career.
With Diab's resignation, Hariri’s prime ministerial debate was once again discussed in Lebanese political and media circles, but Hariri refused to accept such an offer, and finally a lesser-known figure named Mustapha Adib was chosen to try his luck in forming a cabinet. At this stage the party close to Hariri announced that they would not participate in the cabinet. Considering this factor, along with Adib's inexperience in understanding his shaky position, wanting to from an extra-quota government, would become the cause of Adib’s failure to form a cabinet.
Now, after two phases of resigning from the official nomination for attaining the post of Prime Minister, while in both stages his name was among the main candidates for parliamentary consultations, Hariri has re-entered the field by announcing multiple conditions. In a way, he wants to remind everyone that if his demands are not met, the issue of forming a stable and lasting cabinet will be ruled out, and even unknown consequences will await Lebanon.
Hariri claims Macron's initiative is the only and last remaining opportunity to stop Beirut’s economic collapse and the only way to rebuild Beirut. Regarding this matter, he has said: “I will send a delegation to talk with all the main political blocs, to ensure that they are still fully committed to Macron's initiative”. On the other hand, he endorsed the US mediation in determining Lebanon's maritime borders with the Zionist regime. He described the attempt to oust Lebanon’s central bank Governor, Riad Salameh, as malicious and politically motivated, and stressed that he was in favor of keeping Salameh in office. And finally, he was concerned about the possibility of a civil war happening and mentioned a much worse future for Lebanon awaits if he was not elected, referring to rival groups.
In fact, after a turbulent period of crisis, with confidence Hariri has brought the discussion of the cause of other political party groups disapproval of his re-election as prime minister over the past year to the table (i.e., opening up more foreign interference and ignoring other currents of power in forming a cabinet).
In this context, we can say that the explosion of the port of Beirut, the collapse of Diab’s government, Adib's inability to form a new cabinet, the escalation of the economic crisis following the cessation of foreign support and strange policies of the Lebanese central bank plus the US sanctions, and the urgent need for oil and gas revenues from territorial waters disputed by the Zionists acted as complementary to Hariri's re-election as Prime Minister.
