Lebanese Politics

The Example Of Youssef Bey Karam

Youssef Bey Karam

Whenever in my childhood I had to change my name in a game, I usually used the pseudonym of Youssef Bey Karam.

That’s what a friend told me, a couple of weeks ago. Youssef Bey Karam is a paragon. He is considered by many to have led the struggle against the Turks. He is by far an independence symbol, and was always viewed as the defender of the Christians in the events of 1860.

If you go back in time, back to 1861, and ask the people of Zahleh what they think of this hero, the answer will be trenchant and limpid: He sold us out. (more…)

Panurge, Sectarianism, Pavlov And Tires

One Of Pavlov’s Dogs

We observed that, after several repetitions of the combined stimulation, the sounds of the metronome had acquired the property of stimulating salivary secretion – Ivan Pavlov

What did Pavlov do? He brought a dog , and rang the bell each time he gave it food. Eventually, the dog salivated when you rang the bell, even if there wasn’t food. That’s exactly what happening today in Lebanon; A conditioned response: An automatic response established by training to an ordinarily neutral stimulus.

ما طار طير وارتفع الا كما طار وقع (What goes up must come down in the same way it initially went up)

Army members take down a Sheikh in Akkar. Demonstrations break in Ak (more…)

The Aftermath Of Koura’s By-Elections

Fadi Karam

The results are out since yesterday. Fadi Karam, the LF candidate, won. The LF kept the seat in a caza under 14M’s control for 8 years now. But when I wrote a post a couple of days earlier about the subject, I missed something very important.

 What does it really mean that the LF is facing the SSNP in Koura? Everyone would be surprised if the Shias of Nabatiyeh will have the choice to vote between the FM and the Baath. That’s exactly (more…)

The Importance Of Koura’s By-Elections

One year before the 2013 General Elections, comes a by-election that might give an estimation of what will happen in the upcoming electoral fiesta. What the next days will bring is more than just a simple ballot casting.

  • The Perfect Timing Only one year before the 2013 General Elections, comes a by-election on a silver plate. A perfect prova in the perfect time. Marwan Charbel has the chance to try his skills on a small-scale before the 2013 deadline. If he’s capable to control the electoral battle now, he’s likely to do so next year. If incidents break, he will have to review his plans. On Sunday the fifteenth of June, the Interior (more…)

The Struggle Over the Sunni Premiership

Take a politician. Pump him with cash. Give him an Arab and International coverage. Assure him a sectarian umbrella. Make sure he grows a lot. Wait till he expels all his influent coreligionists from the political scene.Suddently, he dies. Vacuum.

 After the vacuum, comes a fierce concours to fill the void. And with that struggle to power, suddenly emerges a list of potential successors that ends up making all of them puppets until one of them retakes control. Happened after Riad Solh’s assasination, happened after Bachir Gemayel’s assasination, and Rafic Hariri’s assasination is not an exception. 6 different Governments (more…)