Hey, how 'bout that government stepping down? Now there's some news for ya. I can't get away with my typical email, "Nothing new here." I assume you've all been watching CNN at home so I won't bother with the details.
Just a recap: former Prime Minister, Hariri, blown up on Feb 14. Current PM, Karami, resigning with his cabinet last Monday. People in the streets waving flags, united in their wish for Syrian troops to leave Lebanon and the Syrian government to stop influencing Lebanese politics.
I could bore you to death with the political details, but what really counts is perception. Lebanese people perceive Syria as an outside force controlling the government. Syria has maintained a military presence here since the civil war under the guise of protection. There was a time when many Lebanese welcomed their presence to ward off Isreal. But they have worn out their welcome and the tide has changed. Today, the majority (or at least the most vocal) of the Lebanese want them out. The cool thing is that religion appears to have no influence. Lebanese from all confessionals (that's what they call the 17 official religious groups here) are united in their hatred of Syria and want to be free of their shackles.
The part that is so confusing to me is this: The members of parliament, the prime minister, and the president are all elected officials. Why can't the Lebanese people make their opinion known at the polls and simply replace the pro-Syrian officials with ones that are more to their liking? After all, this is a "free democratic country". The answer is, again, perception.
People perceive the election process to be corrupt. They also perceive members of the pro-Syrian political parties as intimidating. (I suppose I could make an effort to google some of this stuff or even ask some Lebanese co-workers, but frankly, politics bore me)
On top of all that there has been a few keystone events in the last year.
There was supposed to be presidential elections last October. But in September the parliament voted on a constitutional amendment which extended the current term by three more years. It was widely perceived that this action was influenced by Syria. (Again, I'm unclear about the precise vehicle of intimidation or the motives of the involved parties or the specific "influence") The prime minister and his cabinet at the time (vocal about their opposition to Syria's presence in Lebanon) resigned out of protest of the amendment. They were replaced by a pro-Syria PM and cabinet. Since then tensions have been mounting. There was even an assassination attempt in October of an opposition leader.
Then, two weeks ago, the former Prime minister, Hariri, was assassinated.
People immediately pointed the finger at Syria and public outcry resulted in the resignation of the current PM and cabinet. Parliamentary elections are scheduled for May. What will happen next? Stay tuned.