Journalist, nerd. Managing editor of @LOrientToday, co-host of @LebPoliticsPod.
Dec 2, 2019 • 9 tweets • 2 min read
I've been thinking about 'emergency cabinets' (since looks like politicians are determined to do nothing until disaster strikes).
In a real emergency, you need: 1. People who are competent 2. People trusted by the street AND parties 3. No whiffs of corruption 4. A small number
You don't want a complete slate of unknown technocrats—you need a mix to have as broad of support as possible.
For those unhappy with that, it would be an emergency cabinet. In fact, so much has changed, you'll likely need new elections anyway.
Oct 22, 2019 • 22 tweets • 4 min read
It seems as though there is a full-on push by the authorities to prove that Lebanon is back to normal following Hariri's so-called reform paper.
To this end, we've seen a few battles play out today: (THREAD)
THE STREETS: I haven't done an analysis, but judging from the notifications I got today, there appeared to be something of a running battle between protesters closing streets and authorities reopening them. Roads would close, reopen, close, etc.
May 16, 2019 • 16 tweets • 3 min read
THREAD: It's looking more and more likely Lebanon's eurobond issue will be delayed/canceled in favor of a deal between the Ministry of Finance and BDL, the central bank. dailystar.com.lb/Business/Local…
Just last month, MoF was bullish on tapping the market (read: mostly Lebanese banks) to bring in $$$ to pay off dollar-denominated debt coming due. They seem to have made an about-face.
