Qifa Nabki
Michel Aoun
General Aoun’s Interview with Marcel Ghanem
Free Patriotic Movement leader General Michel Aoun went on Kalam al-Nas (the most widely-watched political talk show in Lebanon) last Thursday, and had a long conversation with Marcel Ghanem, the show’s famous host. The entire interview is available on YouTube in ten-minute installments. You can catch the first one here, and then navigate to the … Continue reading
Charbel Nahas: The FPM’s Secret Weapon?
For a period of a couple months, the cabinet formation was help up by a dispute about the appointment of Gebran Bassil — Michel Aoun’s son-in-law — as Telecommunications Minister. Aoun wanted him re-appointed; Saad Hariri did not. Eventually, a compromise was reached: the FPM was allowed to keep the Telecommunications Ministry as long as … Continue reading
Who Won?
I wasn’t really planning to write a post on this subject, but since people like winners and losers, maybe it’s worth saying something. One commenter writes: I’d be interested to read your analysis on who you think “won” from this cabinet haggling/negotiation. Do you think by holding out so long and getting more or less … Continue reading
Almost Half a Year Later, Lebanon Finally Has a Cabinet
Well, it took five months (almost to the day) but Lebanon seems to have finally turned the page on the historic parliamentary elections held on June 7, 2009. Not to jinx things, but the media is rife with reports that efforts to form a national unity government have succeeded, with the majority March 14 Forces … Continue reading
Is the Opposition Losing Patience With Aoun?
Three developments in the past couple of days have signaled that we may indeed be nearing the end of Lebanon’s five-month stretch without a government. 1) As reported earlier, Suleiman Frangieh — the leader of the Marada party, and a member of the Change & Reform Bloc — expressed his annoyance with the fact that … Continue reading
Qifa Nabki 
And the people say…