The State of Lebanon, Victim of Its Own Princes

by Dr. Abdul-Sattar Kassem

I have written before that Lebanon is to be envied for the resilience of its leaders, who never tire or grow weary of bickering, quarreling, obstruction, and putting sticks in the wheels. These princes possess an inexhaustible energy for squabbling and for empty deliberation, and they possess an unmatched inspiration for obstructing the work of the state, frustrating citizens, and sowing chaos. Some of them have worked, and still work hard, to stir up strife and ignite fighting among citizens. And who pays the price in the end? Certainly the ordinary, simple citizen. As for that villain who claims to be defending his sect, his party, his group, or his gang, he will remain a prince even if Rome itself is destroyed.

For a long stretch of time now, debate has raged in Lebanon over a matter more absurd than absurdity itself: the electoral law — that is, the basis on which elections are to be held, and the geographic division of Lebanon. Thank God Lebanon’s territory is very small; had it been vast and sprawling, endless wars would have resulted. Which is better: the Law of Sixty, the Orthodox law, the mixed system, proportional representation, or no elections at all? A sterile, empty, pointless debate that drags on month after month, while the Lebanese media never stop broadcasting the news of the bickering among the leaders.

…preserved, so that it may remain capable of taking part in the destructive, demoralizing competitions waged against the Lebanese people.

Ultimately, the responsibility falls on the shoulders of the Lebanese people themselves, who accept sectarian and geographic divisions at the expense of citizenship and the unity of the land. A large part of the Lebanese people remains gripped by a sectarian mentality and blind fanaticism, and accepts remaining a hired hand in the service of leaders who never let go of their leadership positions. If only I could hear programs on Lebanese media outlets spreading awareness about liberation from the yoke of insularity and fanaticism.

Lebanon’s leaders could have simply agreed on hiring an “elections contractor” to draft a law for them, or to organize the electoral process on their behalf. Or, more simply, it would be very easy to make the whole of Lebanon a single electoral district, since in that case not a single vote would be lost to any electoral group. Each party or electoral list would receive a number of seats in Parliament proportional to the number of votes it received. And if Lebanon became a single district, the door would open to non-sectarian electoral lists with programs spanning the whole of Lebanon, unbound by sectarian interests.

Source: Translated from the original Arabic, “دولة لبنان ضحية أمرائها” by Dr. Abdul-Sattar Kassem.