Lebanon gets new government after three months of protest

Bloomberg

Lebanon unveiled a new cabinet lineup, some three months after mass protests against entrenched corruption brought down the government and shook the economy.
The incoming team of 20, led by former education minister Hassan Diab, will have to act fast to address the country’s worst financial and economic crisis in decades. Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets in recent months to demand a wholesale overhaul of the country’s sectarian power-sharing system, exacerbating an economic decline years in the making and raising investor concerns that Lebanon could default on its debt obligations for the first time.
Lebanon’s Eurobonds extended their gains with the government formation, which came after more than a month of political wrangling. But the breakthrough did not satisfy many of the demonstrators, who’ve denounced the new lineup as having “one color” — because the choice of names was influenced to a large extent by the pro-Iranian Hezbollah militia and its political allies.
Remittances and other inflows on which Lebanon’s economy has traditionally relied have plummeted as confidence has dwindled, prompting banks to impose informal limits on the withdrawal and transfer of hard currency in a bid to hold on to what remains of their reserves.
When he was first named as prime minister, Diab promised the people a government of experts to lead them out of crisis. The government met on Wednesday to discuss a plan of action to save the country from what Diab described as looming “catastrophe”.
“I salute this revolution,” he said in his first comments after the cabinet was formed. “This government represents the aspirations of protesters across the nation and will work to satisfy their demands.”
Many of the new ministers are little-known to the public, having spent their careers in academia or the professional realm, but are still considered to have political loyalties.
Incoming Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni, for instance, is a well-known economist close to veteran parliament speaker Nabih Berri.
Nassif Hitti, a former diplomat and expert in international relations, was named foreign minister. Raoul Nehme, a well-known banker, was named minister of economy. For the first time, a woman, Zeina Adra, was appointed to the defense portfolio in a government that includes six women, the largest share in Lebanon’s history.
The lineup was agreed after intense horse-trading between Berri, Hezbollah, the Free Patriotic Movement founded by President Michel Aoun and a handful of other political parties considered by protesters to be part of the old regime that needs to go.
Standard Chartered said the new government was likely to prioritise the funding crisis and would look to restore confidence and secure international financing from Gulf Arab countries and beyond.