Lebanon's Parliament Grants Confidence to Saad Hariri's Cabinet

After two and a half years of political crisis in Lebanon, following the election of Michel Aoun as the country's president, Saad Hariri's government, which he introduced as prime minister, successfully received a vote of confidence from the parliament. According to the Associated Press, the Lebanese parliament, after several hours of hearing the proposed ministers' programs and reviewing their priorities, granted confidence to the new cabinet with 87 votes in favor, 4 against, and 1 abstention. The Lebanese parliament has 128 members, but only 92 representatives attended the confidence vote. Saad Hariri is politically opposed to Syria and supported by Saudi Arabia. He served as Lebanon's prime minister from 2009 to 2011, but his cabinet fell after much fluctuation due to anti-Syrian and anti-Hezbollah stances, which were evident in his actions, following the protest resignation of Hezbollah-affiliated ministers. Thus, it remains to be seen how Hariri, with the experience of his previous failure as prime minister, will manage to remain in power with a new cabinet that naturally includes several ministers inclined towards Hezbollah. The representatives who voted against the new Lebanese cabinet include Khaled al-Daher, Sami Gemayel, Nadim Gemayel, and Sami Saadeh, with the latter three being from the Kataeb party, while Imad al-Hout from the Islamic Group abstained. According to IRNA, the Lebanese parliament representatives expressed their views in two sessions on Tuesday morning and afternoon, particularly regarding the 'right to resistance', fighting corruption, the new electoral law, and the approval of the annual budget. At the end of the Tuesday evening session, Saad Hariri requested a vote on the ministerial statement in another parliamentary session, which was agreed upon by Nabih Berri, the parliament's speaker. The Lebanese parliament had previously witnessed tensions between rival factions over the division of cabinet posts and disagreements over the new electoral law, which must be approved before the 2017 parliamentary elections. Lebanon urgently needs an efficient government to implement long-delayed economic and development plans, such as improving the country's infrastructure or exploiting oil and gas resources. Political tensions, exacerbated by the Syrian civil war, have paralyzed political decision-making in Lebanon and increased concerns about escalating instability in the country. On the other hand, the threat of the Syrian war spilling over into Lebanon has always been a concern for politicians and the people of this country. Saad Hariri previously stated, 'We are trying to maintain Lebanon's stability despite all the events occurring in the region. We do not want Lebanon to become another Syria, although my fear is that this may happen. There are groups like the Islamic State (ISIS) that want to infiltrate Lebanon.' Saad Hariri has recently been elected as prime minister based on a political agreement, under which Michel Aoun became the president of Lebanon, a position that had been vacant for nearly two and a half years. It is said that behind-the-scenes agreements between Iran and Saudi Arabia have helped Lebanon out of its political deadlock.