The government of NAWAF SALAM received support from 95 lawmakers in a 128-seat parliament.
Lebanon’s new government has won a vote of trust in parliament following a speech by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, who promised to promote economic reforms and begin negotiations with the International Monetary Fund.
Salam’s government received support from 95 MPs at the 128-seat Chamber of Commerce later Wednesday.
Lebanon’s political landscape has been overturned as Hezbollah, a long-dominated player in Lebanon’s politics, suffered so badly in last year’s war with Israel.
Therefore, the new government’s policy statement did not include the language used in the past few years that was considered justification for Hezbollah’s role in defending Lebanon.
“We want a nation that holds exclusive authority over decisions on war and peace, a nation that is loyal to the Constitution and a nation that ensures the implementation of unmet provisions,” Salam told Congress.
On Tuesday, Hezbollah had given support to the government in a speech submitted by Hezbollah MP Mohamed Raad.
“We will work on removing Lebanon from Lebanon’s greylist and begin negotiations with the International Monetary Fund,” Salam said before voting. “We’ll put the depositors at the top of our priorities.”
The new Lebanon administration was made up of political outsiders and presented its agenda to Parliament. “It is still controlled by political parties accused of bankrupting the country,” said Zeina Khodr, who reports from Al Jazeera’s Lebanon Beirut.
“It’s another time, following the 14-month Hezbollah conflict with Israel and the collapse of Bashar al-Assad in neighbouring Syria, which closed supply routes from Iran,” Khodr said.
“The new government did not grant Hezbollah’s status as the only legitimate armed group other than the military. The post-Hezbollah era is established.”
Beyond security issues, the new government will have to deal with massive reconstruction and the abused economy and financial sector, among other challenges, Khodr added.
Lebanon has been in an economic crisis since 2019, when the financial system collapses under the weight of massive state debt, prompting sovereign defaults in 2020 and freezing ordinary depositors from the savings of the banking system.
The country formed a new government on February 8th, unusually directing US intervention in the process, and formed the country at a stage aimed at approaching access to the Reconstruction Fund following the Israel-Hezbollah War.
Beirut reached a draft funding agreement with the IMF in 2022. This is subject to reforms that the authorities were unable to provide.
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