Editorial
Thousands and thousands of people are making Lebanon their summer destination in 2009, whether various types of expatriate Lebanese, foreign tourists from a range of countries, or other visitors and guests. They’ve come to see friends and family, relax and see the sights, and in general, have a nice vacation.
Unfortunately, the members of our caretaker Cabinet have taken their cue from this phenomenon, joining our visitors and tourists on vacation.
It’s been more than a month since Fouad Siniora’s government tendered its resignation and Saad Hariri was named to come up with a successor. In this time, the Cabinet hasn’t met; ministers do show up for work and complete some of the most mundane and routine business of government, but it’s only the bare minimum.
At the same time, during a vibrant summer season which could see a record two million visitors arrive in Lebanon, and with probably an extra one million people here at any given time, give or take, the country is in the grip of the following: extraordinary power cuts, water supply problems, chronic traffic congestion, and prices that are either high or felt to be too high.
There’s always speculation that the stumbling cabinet-formation process will get a shot in the arm in a few days’ time. The stalemate can’t last for too long, right? We won’t be going two or three months, instead of one, without a government, will we?
Perhaps one will be formed tomorrow. But what if it does take weeks, or months?
Politicians spend the off season talking about how important the summer is, and how Lebanon should be or could be a tourist paradise, but when the game is on the line, we face not only power cuts, but a power vacuum.
The Interior Ministry, under Ziad Baroud, has been making efforts to ease some traffic woes, but we’re all aware of the budget constraints that tie his hands – if politicians were engaging in any serious planning during the rest of the year, they would have set aside some money for such future needs, instead of just praising Lebanon’s tourist past.
We have dozens of summer festivals to attract visitors, but allow key road works projects to sprout up in Greater Beirut, when we should be making it easier for people to get around. Everyone’s complaining about the summer prices, whether it’s at the beach, downtown Beirut, or up in the mountains.
The Cabinet could meet and devote its final energies to doing something serious about making the summer just a little bit better for people, to encourage them to come back in the future. Just leave off the politicized or divisive issues, and do something that can make a difference.
Caretaking is serious business, if a key sector of your economy is at stake. |
