Qifa Nabki
Elections
Doha II … or Ta’if I?
We’re hearing more and more about the possibility of a “Doha II” agreement, a negotiated settlement to the anticipated standoff about the composition of Lebanon’s next cabinet. With Michel Aoun demanding a cabinet share proportional to his bloc’s strength in parliament, it’s clear that March 14 will not be able to assemble the cabinet simply … Continue reading
Post-Election Notes
I attended the Carnegie Middle East Center’s post-election seminar this afternoon at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Hamra. Presentations were given by four directors of prominent civil society organizations: Paul Salem (Carnegie MEC), Richard Chambers (IFES), Oussama Safa (LCPS), and Ziad Abdul Samad (LADE). Richard kicked off the event with one of his excellent PowerPoint … Continue reading
Kerfuffle… Looming!
You might want to turn on your televisions tonight, as Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah will be addressing the nation at 8:30 PM. I’m not going to predict what he’s going to say — in fact, I’m giving up predictions in general, and maybe forever — but a gambling man might bet his mortgage on the … Continue reading
Anatomy of a Victory
Before last night’s Lebanese election results started pouring in, I had been mentally penning a ‘morning after’ post entitled “Anatomy of a Defeat”, in which I would attempt to put my finger on exactly what it was that led to the undoing of the March 14 movement over the past couple of years. As anyone … Continue reading
March 14 Declares Victory
We are awaiting the final confirmation from the Ministry of the Interior, but media sources are widely reporting a victory for March 14, and opposition leaders have all but conceded defeat. Tomorrow (or later today, I should say), the next battle begins. At stake is the question of the premiership and the composition of the … Continue reading
Qifa Nabki 
And the people say…