BEIRUT: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Monday chose international jurist Nawaf Salam to form a government for the war-scarred country and lead it out of economic crisis.
Most Lebanese lawmakers backed Nawaf Salam, the presiding judge at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, after two years of interim government.
“The president of the republic asked Judge Nawaf Salam to instruct him to form a government, knowing that he is currently abroad. “It has been decided that he will return tomorrow,” the presidency said.
Aoun, whose election last week ended a two-year vacancy in the position, held consultations with lawmakers before announcing his nominee. On Monday afternoon, 84 members of parliament told Aoun they backed Salam, according to a Lebanese media count, and nine backed Najib Mikati, who served as prime minister in an interim capacity.
Hezbollah calls the measure a “complete coup by the United States”
Aoun’s election last week was made possible in part by the weakening of Hezbollah in a war with Israel. With the prime minister appointed by the president, the eastern Mediterranean country has been ruled by an interim government for more than two years amid a crushing economic crisis.
Under Lebanon’s power-sharing system, the president must be a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni and the speaker of parliament a Shiite.
‘Change’
Salam’s supporters see the judge and former ambassador as an impartial figure capable of carrying out much-needed reforms, in contrast to Mikati, seen by critics as under the influence of Hezbollah.
Lawmaker George Adwan of the Christian Lebanese Forces party said after meeting Aoun and endorsing Salam that it was time for Hezbollah to focus on “political work.” “The era of weapons is over,” Adwan told reporters.
Hezbollah ended a deadly war against Israel this fall bruised and weakened.
Under a ceasefire agreement, the group must withdraw its fighters from areas of southern Lebanon near the Israeli border while the national army (until last week under Aoun’s command) and U.N. peacekeepers they are deployed there.
Hezbollah also lost a key ally in neighboring Syria when religious forces overthrew President Bashar al-Assad last month. Independent lawmaker Melhem Khalaf said he supported Salam as a candidate for change.
A source close to Hezbollah said the movement and its ally Amal supported Mikati. The Monday front page of Al-Akhbar, a newspaper close to Hezbollah, said Salam’s nomination would amount to a “full US coup”, after Washington backed Aoun for the presidency.
‘Two options’
In his inaugural speech on Thursday, Aoun said his election as president would usher in a “new phase” for the country. Lebanese university professor Ali Mrad said support for Salam’s nomination reflected “the real changes Lebanon is experiencing.”
“Today there are two options in the country: a serious reform option, called Nawaf Salam, and an option that takes us back, called Najib Mikati,” he said.
Some opposition lawmakers supported anti-Hezbollah lawmaker and businessman Fouad Makhzoumi on Saturday, but he withdrew on Monday to allow a consensus around Salam. Whoever heads Lebanon’s new government will face major challenges, including implementing reforms to satisfy international donors amid the country’s worst economic crisis in its history.
They will also face the difficult task of rebuilding areas of the country after the war between Israel and Hezbollah and implementing the November 27 ceasefire agreement.
Published in Amanecer, January 14, 2025.
