It’s time for the Maronite political establishment to seriously consider whether the community benefits from retaining the post of president of the republic. Few things have damaged Maronite interests more than the sexennial race for the presidency, dividing the political class and injecting an element of the irrational into the thinking of communal politicians. As… اقرأ المزيد
Needless to say, Saad Hariri’s decision to open channels to Sleiman Franjieh over the presidency has caused disarray in the ranks of Maronite politicians. The possibility that Franjieh might emerge as a consensus candidate has shaken the precarious equilibrium in place for 18 months. There were many reasons for Hariri’s calculation, not least that Lebanon… اقرأ المزيد
It didn’t take a prodigy to understand what the foreign minister, Gebran Bassil, had in the back of his mind on his recent visit to Iran. Bassil hit all the right buttons with respect to the Iranians, rising up on their list of Lebanese presidential favorites if his father-in-law, Michel Aoun, fails to be elected… اقرأ المزيد
| The Daily Star Iran and Russia may be dealing with a difficult situation in Syria as they defend the regime of Bashar Assad, but they can take solace in the fact that the Syrian president’s enemies are facing hard times as well. The Gulf states, with Saudi Arabia at their head, as well as… اقرأ المزيد
The political crisis in Lebanon has raised many questions about the intentions of Hezbollah and the Free Patriotic Movement with regard to the government. While Hezbollah continues to insist that it does not seek the resignation of Prime Minister Tammam Salam, the party has done virtually everything to bring about such an outcome, most recently… اقرأ المزيد
Hezbollah’s secretary-general, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, was true to form last week, when he delivered a speech on the occasion of the “victory” against Israel nine years ago. The core of his address, however, was not Israel but his support for Michel Aoun, who stood by the party in the July 2006 war.Nasrallah declared that he… اقرأ المزيد