Hariri: Don’t Rely on Caretaker Gov’t to Forestall Lebanon’s Collapse

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri has called on the country’s politicians to move quickly to form a new government to halt a slide “toward the unknown.” In a Monday tweet, Hariri, who resigned less than a month into Lebanon’s ongoing – and now violent – anti-government protests, wrote: “The continuation of the caretaker government is not the solution, so let’s stop wasting time and have the government bear the responsibility…. Our government resigned in order to transition to a new government dealing with popular changes, but obstruction has continued for 90 days and the country is moving toward the unknown.” The protests, which began in mid-October, were sparked by new taxes aimed at helping ease the government’s deep foreign debt, but quickly turned to issues of corruption and sectarian influence on state affairs. The rallies were almost always peaceful, but in the past few days they have turned particularly violent, with observers blaming this on frustration over political foot-dragging on the establishment of a new government.