After months of power struggle, the formation of a government in Lebanon failed again. Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri gave back the order to form a government on Thursday, as he told journalists after a meeting with President Michel Aoun. Despite several attempts, Hariri was unable to agree on a cabinet with the head of state. He is already the second politician to fail to form a government. The current cabinet announced its resignation after the explosion in the port of Beirut at the beginning of August and has only been in office since then.
The country on the Mediterranean has been suffering from a severe economic and financial crisis for almost two years, which has noticeably worsened in recent months due to the explosion and the corona pandemic.
The Lebanese lira has lost more than 90 percent of its value.
Inflation is more than 100 percent.
More than 60 percent of the population lives in poverty.
Because there is a lack of foreign currency for imports, the country suffers from a supply shortage.
International pressure
Recently there has been increasing international pressure on political leaders to form a government.
At the beginning of this week, the EU states threatened to impose sanctions against those responsible for the political crisis in Lebanon, if necessary.
Hariri had previously been head of government.
Most recently, he submitted his resignation in October 2019 after the start of mass protests against the country's political elite.
The Sunni politician is the son of former prime minister Rafik Hariri, who was killed in a bomb attack in 2005.
The Shiite Hezbollah organization, which has a strong influence in the country, is held responsible for the attack.
In multi-denominational Lebanon, power is divided among the most important religious groups.
The head of state must always be a Christian, the prime minister a Sunni and the speaker of parliament a Shiite.