Lebanon and the fallacy of good news

Artwork by Tarek Chemaly

Forget the extremely intelligent, even-handed, objective and as usual incredibly smart analysis by Mohammad Ibrahim Fheili, who completely nailed it (which he always does) - here. Realists have no place in Lebanon, they are called defeatists. And yes, I have been called so before many times - among other meaner, harsher, less impolite words (but that's a different story for a different blog post). But here's the thing, Lebanese people may be sectarian, divided, hold deep hatred towards each other, but each of them is - within his/her own logic - incredibly optimistic (see here for a sample).

But the Lebanese need any good news coming their way. Not matter if true or not. We are not doing well no matter whose side of the events you hear, because everyone is now hyping their own (fan) base and trying to tell them that they were right all along, and victorious all along the way, and that their (ever-shifting dogma and alliances) were the real and correct ones since time immemorial. Remind me of this in the next parliamentary elections please.

But it's summer and AC bills are killing everyone, the political climate is suffocating, no one knows who or what is responsible for anything. A lot of things go unsigned in ministries, logistics are hanging by a thread, no one is confronting their inner trauma but again - this is why everyone is desperate for a win. Somewhere, somehow. Direct flights (or talks of them) resuming between Lebanon and the US are one such consequence.

And our president being in the US and hosted by their president seems to be the perfect opportunity for that. Optics are everything and we Lebanese are very good at twisting them the way we want. I said it before and will say it again, Bill Farrell did utter "there's no truth in Beirut, only versions" (please note this has inspired by installation "no truce in Beirut, only virgins" - here).

Presidential ad - reaffirming positions

There are several ads in town featuring our president. For anyone a bit lost here's the gist of it: Lebanon is having direct negotiations with Israel. Hizbollah does not concede to the existence of such a nation. So the country is torn in between those saying that the negotiations are asymmetrical and irrelevant and obviously an act of treason, and those saying that the country needs to get down from its high horse and face the music as is and try to limit damages as much as possible.

The president and the head of the cabinet (respectively Joseph Aoun and Nawwaf Salam) are of the latter's opinion. Hence the ad in question all over town. "Joseph Aoun... The decision is Lebanon's" - to begin with the ad is not signed (neither by the presidency nor any other official or unofficial body) and it says what it wants to say obliquely (and smartly one has to admit). Because what is left unsaid is "the decision is not for any non-governmental actor with arms but rather with the state itself". As I said, it leaves a lot suggested, but it implies all of it.

Of course, buying ads on networks costs money, so it would have been interesting to know who paid for it just as an act of transparency. 

Lebanon: Rules of political mercantilism

So, tell me, what is a presidential election without mercantilism? What mercantilism you ask? The one that goes "blessed is Lebanon" (Poster gift of - insert name of businessman-aspiring-politician-in-the-next-MP-elections). Yes, some did try to make an effort - "he is worth of it of it and more" "his excellence the head of the army" and some went completely sycophantic with this foregoing any personal pride and just going for the jugular. Do note the above are merely a sample, there is much more in the market dipped in give-and-take the same sauce.  But hey, Lebanon is what it is, and this is nothing new (this comes to mind - here) and with every new election you will have the well-wishers with their not-so-hidden agendas. 

And electing Joseph Aoun for the presidency is no exception!