Lebanon, for the second day, is without a president and is being run by an unrepresentative government. There's no democracy in Lebanon instead there's a power-sharing arrangement that allocates each religious group or sec a certain position; so the president is Christian maronite, the PM is a Muslim sunni and the speaker of the parliament is Muslim shia.
The Christian maronites are uneasy with the fact that the position of president is vacant and - for the time-being - run by the a Muslim, prime minister Siniora. The shia have withdrawn from the government though they're the biggest religious group in Lebanon. But the country remains peaceful and calm in this difficult circumstance.
I'll post more on this later.
2 comments:
The current crisis in Lebanon just proved how unrealistic Lebanon's confessional system, where decisions are made by a consensus among all the various communities, is.
Please visit the LA Times Middle East blog
www.latimes.com/babylonbeyond
I agree, it should've been that way. But unfortunately the external interferences - from the french colonial ear onwards - have created a culture that might not be ready for such a big shift.
The Shia will win any election that's based one-person one-vote but the Maronites and the Sunna won't be happy with it, paving the way for more external interference ... it's a sad case. But it's admirable that the Lebonese people are holding on to the peace.
Thanks for the link, like it and like your contribs.
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