New Lebanese Government Receives Vote of Confidence from Parliament

The new Lebanese government received a vote of confidence from Parliament following a speech by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam regarding its economic and financial reform plans and negotiations with the International Monetary Fund. Nawaf Salam's government secured 95 votes in favor out of a total of 128 parliamentary representatives during the session on Wednesday, March 8. Mohammad Raad, a senior member of Hezbollah in the Lebanese Parliament, stated a day before the confidence vote that the Iran-backed group supports the new Lebanese government. The political landscape in Lebanon has significantly changed following recent heavy blows from Israel to Hezbollah, which resulted in the deaths of Hassan Nasrallah, the group's secretary-general, and many of its commanders and senior officials. One sign of these changes is the new Lebanese government's statement announcing its policies, which, unlike in previous years, did not use language legitimizing Hezbollah's role in defending Lebanon. Before the vote of confidence, Nawaf Salam addressed the members of the Lebanese Parliament, saying, 'We are striving to bring Lebanon out of the gray situation and initiate negotiations with the International Monetary Fund... We will prioritize depositors.' Lebanon has been grappling with a deep economic crisis since 2019 due to the collapse of its financial system caused by the government's massive debts. This situation led to the freezing of ordinary depositors' savings accounts in Lebanese banks in 2020. The new Lebanese government was formed less than 20 days ago following unusual and direct U.S. intervention in the process, aiming to secure the necessary resources for the reconstruction of the country, which has recently endured a devastating war between Israel and Hezbollah. Yassine Jaber, Lebanon's finance minister, told Reuters that a delegation from the International Monetary Fund is expected to visit Lebanon in March.