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THE MINISTER OF interior said Lebanon’s security situation is “not at its best.” Ziyad Baroud is certainly in a position to know. This view has arisen amid a number of unrelated events. But when taken together, they form a potentially lethal cocktail of instability.
Even before the recent, “exceptional” recent events, a government suffering from internal division, paralysis and finally, collapse, failed to address pressing domestic issues. Amid the drift, a crime wave began.
Most candidates for government seats are keeping quiet about what they would do if selected. Others put forward their solutions, and aren’t asked why these issues weren’t priorities when they were in government previously.
These politicians fail to realize that today’s events aren’t just the media playing up certain stories. These “stories” have real-world impact.
Lebanon’s reputation is deteriorating. The country might not be in a state of emergency for the same reasons as other states in the region, but the economic and security situations here certainly deserve the title of “state of emergency.”