The Real Power Shift of Taef

By: Charles Jalkh (Freedom Fighter)
October 27/06

In the race of history, some peoples resemble a rabbit running after a shrinking carrot. ‎The carrot gets smaller but the rabbit keeps the pursuit, until the carrot vanishes ‎completely, yet the rabbit continues to run by instinct. ‎

Pursuing the seat of President of Lebanon with the hope of restoring or safeguarding the ‎interests of the Christians in Lebanon is meaningless in the new Taef constitution. ‎Lebanon’s political dynamic is not based on the presidential system anymore, rather on a ‎more powerful, though not yet assertive, parliamentary system. Whoever controls the ‎undisbandable parliament, elects the president, names the prime minister, and gives ‎confidence to the cabinet. A president without a parliamentary majority is powerless and ‎will be forced into cohabitation, and so a prime minister and her/his cabinet would fall. ‎They are both brought to power by a parliamentary majority which would naturally ‎dictate their loyalties and policies.

The belief by any Lebanese ethnic group that their ‎confessionally assigned political post is any security to its members is simply a pure ‎illusion. The only security lies in the protection of all and every single citizen through ‎democracy, rule of common civil laws, and equal opportunity. The attempt to shift power ‎between the first, second and third presidency is equally futile and will always cause ‎objections by one ethnic group or another.‎

Therefore, short of changing Taef, the path to power in Lebanon, first and foremost, ‎passes by the control of the parliament. Lebanese parties or individuals wishing to gain ‎power should aim at gaining the majority of seats in parliament by convincing the ‎majority of the Lebanese of their thesis, or form a majority coalition united around solid ‎principles and a program.‎

But no one party from the old feudal Lebanon is currently able to reach beyond its ‎confessional base on its own. We have seen some relatively successful efforts by the ‎Future Movement and the FPM to position themselves as multi-ethnic groupings, but we ‎are still waiting for a true unifying ideology. ‎

The March ‎‏14‏‎ groupings, and despite their many common denominators and noble ‎instincts, still lack the unifying social and futuristic ideology as well as the secular ‎structures/dialog necessary to cement the union of the people by articulating common ‎aspirations and practicing equality of the citizens. There are large constituencies in ‎Lebanon that strongly support March ‎‏14‏‎, but they should not be taken for granted. Many ‎are not satisfied with the old political structures, and have a yearning for a progressive ‎liberal majority encompassing multiple ethnic groups.‎

And why not merge the Future Movement, the Socialist Progressive party, the Lebanese ‎forces, the Phalange, Kornet Shehwan, the National Liberal Party, the National Block, ‎along with pro-Lebanon Shiites, into a single long term coalition with a common party ‎constitution geared to serve all Lebanese regardless of ethnic or religious background. ‎Such new party could change the political landscape of Lebanon for the foreseeable ‎future. Unless March ‎‏14‏‎ reaches out with a progressive and concrete vision for all ‎Lebanese beyond the sovereignty issue, it will risk missing this opportune moment in ‎history when we feel strongest about our common destiny and aspirations.‎