Lebanese Cabinet Reconvenes Despite Calls for Boycott
According to Naharnet, “The caretaker cabinet convened Monday morning at the Grand Serail after two ministers defied a declared Free Patriotic Movement boycott and secured quorum for a session described by caretaker PM Najib Mikati as an emergency meeting.” [Naharnet]

Civil Society Organizations File Legal Petitions to US Treasury, EU Bodies Urging Sanctions Against Political Leaders
According to the National “A Swiss foundation and a Lebanese NGO on Monday sought to pressure western countries into imposing sanctions on Lebanese leaders by filing legal petitions at the US Treasury and two European Union bodies, three years into the small Mediterranean country’s worst-ever economic meltdown.” [The National]

UNHCR Calls for Support for Lebanon, Refugees
According to Naharnet, “The United Nations’ refugee agency chief has called for sustained support for Syrian refugees in Lebanon and vulnerable Lebanese citizens, three years after the country’s economy began collapsing.” [Naharnet]

Lebanese Ministry of Tourism Projects 700k Visitors This Winter, $1.5 Billion ‘Cash Boost’ 
According to Arab News, “Lebanon was on Monday preparing for a much-needed $1.5 billion cash injection with tourist chiefs predicting an influx of around 700,000 visitors over the coming days. With the festive holiday season fast-approaching, hoteliers were reporting an upsurge in bookings on last year as the country temporarily began to put its economic and political woes to one side.”  [Arab News]

Azhari and Bassam write, “The formerly middle-income country’s financial system imploded in 2019, leading to a currency crash that the United Nations says has dragged four out of five residents into poverty. A study by pollsters Gallup released last December, found nearly three in four people polled in Lebanon experienced stress “a lot of the day” during the previous day – a new high in its 16 years measuring trends in the country. Some 63% said they would leave the country permanently if they could . . . Economists say it will deepen as long as politicians delay passing reforms agreed with the International Monetary Fund in April and required to unlock billions of dollars in aid. Basic state services have crumbled, subsidies on almost all goods have been removed and tens of thousands of Lebanese have left the country seeking jobs abroad in the biggest emigration wave since the 1975-90 civil war.”

Read More Here

Chatah writes, “Parliamentary systems allow for majority coalitions to govern, made up of parties that are not always required to get along — let alone agree on every issue. The whole purpose of crossing a majority threshold (in Lebanon’s case 64 seats out of a 128-seat chamber) is to set aside smaller differences and work together through an alliance. In other words, compromise. No minority bloc can go it alone, and politics requires cooperation. Yet in Lebanon’s case, national unity consensus — often a result of geopolitical factors and regional settlement — places groups across the political spectrum, together, in a status quo best described as paralysis.“

Read More Here