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. 

President goes to Paris and does not take you along.

All right, call me foolish, but the new President ad was... confusing to me. The main headline? "Enjoy Paris", well, silly me I expected a raffle draw, or a prize consisting of 2 tickets to Paris, or - you know - other ways to have a coffee a Flore at the expense of President. The smaller line? "with the taste of President", because really nothing is more anti-climatic than enjoying Paris while eating cheese in a country which is still reeling under the many ailments Lebanon is reeling, instead of offering me a ticket and a Schengen visa to boot. If was to enjoy Paris, it would not this cheesy way (pardon the pun).

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!

Politics - Mix and mismatch

I admit it has been long since I shot ads throughout town in vivo. But here you go - Politics is everywhere. There are signs from the time of the war in 2024, there is a sign for electing a president (apparently 2 days from now on the 9th of January), there are signs with neutrality signed by Paulette Yagopian aka Paula Yacoubian (see here), and one by Lebanese Forces (or is this Kataeb?) with "Lebanon first" as a message (which is not too far off from the Yagopian/Yacoubian one) and all of this begs the question - who is paying for this and with what money. Because many message stand there, with hashtags and all, yet there is no party/politician/entity signing with a logo. Obviously my arms are not long enough to pursue the financial paper trail, but even that - it could be a company owned by a company owned by another to hide the actual source. I still find this very interesting truth be told, how messages are plastered, both innocently enough and meaningfully enough yet no one tells us who plastered though and for what purpose.

Michel Aoun: A rally for a departing president

Now here's a bit of political mercantilism. Now that president Aoun last presidency days are coming (October 30th). Now there is a rally to support him once he is no longer president. Interestingly, we still did not manage to elect a president - because obviously, if you are in Lebanon, it is a very convoluted process where everyone would have to agree on the person in question... Still, interesting that president Aoun after taking so many twists and turns and having had the back luck of having so many crises during his presidency (financial, pandemic, and hoard of personal issues etc....) would want to still be a very active in the political game considering he is - with all due respect - a man of advanced age. But hey. that's Lebanon for you.

Bechara Abi Younes goes for the presidential elections

OK, first things first: Who is Bechara Abi Younes?

He is an "interior Designer & Chairman of the Environmental Rescue Party; Manager and General Director of a company named Byblos Decor for Construction" per his own words on his Twitter bio. To check up the Environmental Rescue party please go here. Interestingly, Mr. Abi Younes has a website listed on his facebook page (here) which goes by BcharaAbiYounes (here) which mind you has a different spelling of his name, but the website goes nowhere. If you follow the links above you will note that Mr. Abi Younes is not exactly active on social media as they have not been updated for an eternity.

So why am I bringing this up?

Because Mr. Abi Younes has an ad plastered on the road as to him being a presidential candidate in Lebanon (supposedly the elections will happen in September 2022) but as is chances of them happening on that date are slim to none.

Do note, I am not digressing. All this IS confusing.

Why? Because people do not elect their president in Lebanon. Members of the Parliament (elected by people) do. So basically, plastering an ad for your presidential ambitions is a little.... superfluous? Simply because it does not sway your odds one way or the other.

Funnily, long time ago a reporter was talking to Mohammad Raad (who represents the Hezbollah in the parliament) and asked him why not put two candidates on the ballot and the MPs would decide who would win, to which he answered "no, this would become an election".

Actually, here's the rub - there is a fee to get your name posted on the ballot to become an MP. But to become a president all you have to be is a Christian Maronite older than 21. That's it. No money or ballot necessary.

If the above two facts are not the epitome of surrealism I am not sure what is.

In other words, basically MPs know who - after much deliberation and compromise and concessions - the next president is and they just vote "pour la forme". I, to be honest, do not think Mr. Abi Younes is high on the list.

But then again, this is Lebanon, so stranger things have happened. And not just on Netflix.