Admission of failure.

Nine months after his appointment as prime minister, Saad Hariri announced on Thursday that he was giving up on forming a new Lebanese government.

The latter was to put in place a team supposed to launch essential reforms to unblock in particular crucial international aid to Lebanon, which is now facing the worst socio-economic crisis in its history.

After the announcement of this resignation, clashes erupted in the evening between the security forces and dozens of demonstrators who gathered in the wake of this announcement.

In Washington, this renunciation is considered "disappointing".

The abandonment of Saad Hariri "is a further disappointment for the Lebanese people," said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

"The Lebanese political class has wasted the last 9 months," lamented the head of American diplomacy, who calls on the leaders of the Cedar country to "put their differences aside without delay".

Blockage with President Aoun

Saad Hariri told reporters that he met with President Michel Aoun on Thursday, who called for amendments to the government list he opposed. "It is clear that the position (of Michel Aoun) has not changed," he said. "I offered him more time to think it over and he said 'We can't come to an agreement'. That's why I apologized for not being able to form the government. For several months, Saad Hariri has accused the president of hindering the formation of the government by insisting on a "blocking minority" within the next team and by seeking to impose a "confessional and partisan" distribution of portfolios.

The presidency responded in a statement that Saad Hariri "was not ready to discuss any amendments."

"What is the point of an extra day if the door to discussions is closed?"

Michel Aoun must now begin consultations to choose a head of government.

The parties will then begin their traditional, often endless bargaining, to form a government in this multi-faith country put in cuts regulated by the barons of the various communities.

"One more dramatic episode"

It is "one more dramatic episode in the inability of Lebanese officials to find a way out of the crisis", reacted to the UN the head of French diplomacy, Jean-Yves Le Drian, deploring a "cynical self-destruction" .

A UN spokesperson for his part reiterated the organization's call "to the country's political leaders to quickly agree on the formation of a new government".

Three times Prime Minister, Saad Hariri was appointed head of government on October 22, 2020, a year after his own fall under the pressure of a popular uprising.

The current government, in charge of current affairs, resigned after the devastating explosion in the port of Beirut on August 4, 2020, a coup de grace for a population already on its knees.

More than half of the population currently lives below the poverty line and the country, short of foreign exchange, faces many shortages (drugs, fuel, electricity, etc.).

The Lebanese pound has continued to tumble on the black market, causing prices to rise massively.

Officially pegged to the dollar, at 1,507 pounds to the greenback, it was selling for more than 20,000 pounds to the dollar after Saad Hariri's announcement, against 19,700 Thursday morning.

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  • Government

  • Prime Minister

  • Saad hariri

  • Resignation

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  • Lebanon