IN the 1950s, following a governance crisis similar to what Lebanon witnessed in recent years, an agreement was reached to name a new president. Shortly after the agreement, one of the rival candidates addressed his supporters, saying, “There is no longer any benefit. Let us go and congratulate the president.” Since then, this saying has become a proverb in Lebanon.
This scenario now mirrors the situation of the current Lebanese deputies, who have been embroiled in a battle for the presidency for nearly 30 months. The country has been left in a political vacuum because one party insisted on controlling the decision and imposing its own candidate for president, even if by force. When the moment finally came, everyone lined up in front of the ballot box to elect Army Commander Joseph Aoun as president, and exchanged the familiar words, “Let us go and offer our congratulations.”
Regardless of the circumstances surrounding this election, it remains a turning point on which many Arab decision-making countries have placed their hopes. They see in Aoun the reformative leader who is urgently needed to guide Lebanon towards stability, after his efficient leadership of the Lebanese Army during the seven years that witnessed the country’s most difficult challenges.
It is true that Aoun does not possess a magic wand, especially given the immense pressure he faces. Southern Lebanon and much of the country are in ruins due to the adventures of Hezbollah, which followed Iran’s agenda without any regard for the suffering it has caused the Lebanese people since the time it entered political life in 1992.
In addition to this, Lebanon is grappling with a multifaceted economic and financial crisis. There is also a deepening popular division, exacerbated by the sectarian and divisive tactics employed by Hezbollah in its attempt to monopolize Shiite representation in public institutions following a civil war that consumed Lebanon’s resources. Also, Hezbollah added salt to injury by silencing dissenting voices, and turning the country from the land of the Cedars into an entity rejected by its Arab brothers.
Since yesterday, Joseph Aoun has officially begun his duties as President of Lebanon. This prominent military figure, who spent much of his life in an olive military uniform, fully understands that his people are placing their hopes in him to guide the country out of its critical situation.
It is true that the Lebanese people know their salvation depends on Aoun fulfilling his promise to ensure that weapons remain exclusively in the hands of the State and to prevent Lebanon from becoming a transit point or factory for drugs, like what happened when Hezbollah was allowed to promote soft terrorism in the Arab Gulf countries through the production and smuggling of Captagon and other substances in collaboration with Syrian intelligence during the reign of the ousted Bashar al-Assad.
This presidential pledge is non-negotiable, for it signifies that Lebanon, once known as “the Switzerland of the East,” has been under the control of one of the most corrupt political classes in modern history for fifty years.
The Lebanese people know that their escape from this political class lies in recognizing the illegitimacy of any weapon outside the control of the armed forces, now led by Joseph Aoun.
Therefore, when Aoun declared in his inaugural speech before the country’s representatives that, “Lebanon is going through a governance crisis in which political performance must change,” and pledges to work toward judicial independence and reforming state institutions, he is reflecting the will of the Lebanese people. This also signals that the current political class has become thoroughly discredited. These words are a direct message to the “mafia class.”
Any meaningful change, Aoun knows, must begin with reforming the electoral law. Anyone familiar with his speeches and statements during his leadership of the army knows that he has long criticized the current electoral law, which empowers the unqualified who have compromised the country’s interests through electoral bribes, financial corruption, and personal gains. This law has allowed the worst elements to remain in power indefinitely. Meanwhile, Hezbollah’s Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association has become the largest bank in Lebanon, while the rest of the country’s banks have collapsed.
That is why hopes are placed on the strong and honest Joseph Aoun, despite the immense challenges he faces.
In this context, it may be useful to recall the story mentioned in the Holy Quran of the Prophet Moses when he arrived in the city of Midian and saw two women struggling to fill their jars, as the crowds prevented them from reaching the water source. Prophet Moses helped these women, and one of them said, “O my father, hire him. Indeed, the best one you can hire is the strong and the honest”.
It has become clear over the past two days that this sentiment reflects the opinion of the majority of the Lebanese people about Joseph Aoun, a man of integrity who has remained untainted by any political deals. The years he spent as commander of the Lebanese army serve as a testament to the truth of this view.
In contrast, Aoun’s election signals historic shifts in the balance of power in Lebanon and the broader Middle East, especially after the weakening of the Persian influence that, for four decades, worked to turn Beirut, which was once known as the capital of beauty, creativity, and freedom, into a mere Iranian outpost used by Tehran to stir trouble in Arab capitals.
Lebanon, a cherished icon, is expected to return to its former glory under the new president. The new era should be one that depends on the Lebanese people who are known for their high culture and hard work, which they demonstrated in the countries of immigration where they sought refuge. There, they established industrial institutions and excelled in various fields.
Therefore, the Lebanese are waiting for this new era, seeing it as an opportunity to reaffirm their presence in their homeland. They expect support from both Arab and Western nations to help lift this beautiful country out of the tunnel of crisis and restore it to its rightful place, as the Lebanese used to describe it “a phoenix rising again in the Arab world”.
