Mikati at the Politics and Society Institute (PSI)

Story Highlights
  • Optimism in the current situation
  • Agreements that lift Lebanon economically
  • Agreements that lift Lebanon economically
  • External “disassociation” policy

The Lebanese Prime Minister diagnoses the current situation in Lebanon and the proposed solutions

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati crossed the lobby of the Politics and Society Institute (PSI), which is located on Wasfi al-Tal Street, and heard from the Director of Program Development, Hussein Sarayrah, an explanation of the Institute’s activities and projects while watching the pictures that filled the lobby, while an elite group of politicians, intellectuals and council members were present. The Institute’s trustees are waiting for him in the hall of the late great thinker Adnan Abu Odeh.

In the presence of the honorary president of the institute, Sharif Shaker bin Zaid, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Azmi Mohafazah, welcomed the great guest, and moderated the dialogue with him, the media and political analyst Omar Kalab, In his diagnosis of the Lebanese situation, Mikati proceeded from the historical and political contexts during the past decades, up to the recent elections, and the expected scenarios at the level of government formation, the presidential elections, and the relations between the various political forces.

The paradox of the matter is that the Lebanese Prime Minister seemed more optimistic and confident in economic and political solutions than the Jordanian presence, despite the fact that he is leading his country after the specter of bankruptcy has fallen on it and in very sensitive regional and international circumstances, and difficult political conditions that are also characterized by intense internal polarization.

Optimism in the current situation

Miqati set the main keys to the future of Lebanon; On the political level, he raised the importance of starting from the Taif Agreement, strengthening it and building on it and developing what needs to be developed from it, and he defended the idea of ​​decentralization as an appropriate option in the next stage to deal with the political and administrative situations there, but when he was asked about what is meant by decentralization here? In what meaning and dimensions are there multiple scenarios and options, some of which are administrative and others are administrative and financial, and so on, but it is clear from the speech of the Lebanese prime minister that what is meant is to think about granting spaces of freedom and privacy to the different components in the Lebanese situation and to try to reduce the ongoing daily actions.

Politically, it is clear that Mikati, who is a prime minister with a high degree of political intelligence and economic experience, is well aware of the complexities in the internal equation and the major crises that any politician can easily be drawn into, despite his strong belief in the possibility of finding solutions and exits, He referred more than once to the “dialogue table”, building common visions for the future, and threw the decentralization card in an attempt to find a new formula that everyone would be comfortable with.

Agreements that lift Lebanon economically

On the economic level, the prime minister does not deny the complexity of the economic crisis, but he nevertheless seemed optimistic that Lebanon will cross this dangerous road within years if it follows the line set by implementing the agreement with the International Monetary Fund, which is economists who attended the session asked about the extent to which it can be achieved, in light of the difficult economic conditions for a broad social strata of citizens.

In the context of foreign policies, Mikati expressed his optimism about the possibility of solving the gas problem in the Mediterranean and the current crisis with Israel through the American mediator, whose interest does not seem to be the instability of the situation in Lebanon, while some of the attendees believed that the current crisis might herald a new war between the two countries, for Israel to take advantage of the world’s preoccupation with the Russian-Ukrainian war.

External “disassociation” policy

As for Lebanon’s foreign policy and its relationship with the Arab countries, Mikati emphasized the “disassociation” policy, which he believes is the best for Lebanon with regard to Arab disputes and problematic issues in this regard.

President Mikati surprised the audience with his great flow and frank, sequential talk that distinguished Mikati’s question in answering the attendees’ questions.

Prime minster Mikati does not hide that Lebanon is on a hot slate, and it is part of a turbulent regional context and no less volatile global circumstances, but he has a distinguished analytical mindset that classifies and arranges files according to their nature and location, and has a calm mentality in dealing with these files that could burn any politician or government that approaches them, especially in complex political situations such as the situation in Lebanon.

Politics and Society Institute

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