Lebanon's parliament approves new budget amid protests

EPA-EFE/NABIL MOUNZER
Newly assigned Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab speaks to media after his meeting with Outgoing Prime Minister Saad Hariri at the Hariri house in Beirut, Lebanon, 19 December 2019. Hassan Diab is named as the new Lebanese Prime Minister by President Michel Aoun after consultations with parliament blocks members in which he gained a 69 vote of the 128-member parliament.

- Advertisement -

Lebanon’s parliament passed the 2020 state budget on 27 January, amid a major economic and financial crisis. The 2020 budget envisages a deficit of around 7% of GDP, more than the 0.6%, which was promised by the previous government.
The newly elected PM Hassan Diab said he would not obstruct the budget. The country’s finance committee chief, however, said the forecast revenues might be unrealistic. Meanwhile, protesters threw rocks at police around parliament. They protest against the lack of reforms and the corruption in the government run by elites.
“The government must put into place indispensable measures. It’s almost a question of its survival”, said French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. Analysts say the new cabinet will struggle to win support from the West, as Diab is supported by the country’s Shia Islamist militant group Hezbollah, who makes up a pariamentary majority, and is banned in many countries.
“This is a government that represents the aspirations of the demonstrators who have been mobilised nationwide for more than three months”, Diab said when he took office. His words, however, have not calmed the protesters, who doubt that the new government will end poverty.
Analysts called the budget “a worthless piece of paper that doesn’t reflect the priorities of the Lebanese people and doesn’t include any key reforms”, while the protesters, who have rejected the new cabinet, called the government “thieves”.
We won’t leave the streets until they are all pushed out. We want to bring down the entire parliament, it does not represent us”, a protester said.

- Advertisement -

Subscribe to our newsletter

Latest

Georgia’s democratic election dream becomes a screamer

Georgia’s October 26 Parliamentary elections did not hold up...

Kazakhstan’s Bold Leap Towards Establishing an Academic Hub

The ConnectED 2024 conference, held in Astana on October...

How French Neocolonialism converges with Iranian terrorism

France raised one billion euros "for the people of...

Don't miss

Georgia’s democratic election dream becomes a screamer

Georgia’s October 26 Parliamentary elections did not hold up...

Kazakhstan’s Bold Leap Towards Establishing an Academic Hub

The ConnectED 2024 conference, held in Astana on October...

How French Neocolonialism converges with Iranian terrorism

France raised one billion euros "for the people of...

IMF pronounces victory over inflation while sounding debt and tariff warnings

The 2024 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund...

Kazakhstan’s president proposes Constitutional reforms referendum

Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev proposed on April 29 holding a referendum in the Central Asian country on the draft amendments to the Constitution and...

Interview: Uzbekistan an active player in the global trade system

New Europe in an exclusive interview during the first Tashkent International Investment Forum, spoke to Laziz Kudratov, Uzbek first deputy minister for investment and...

Pope Francis to visit Kazakhstan in September

Pope Francis has confirmed his official visit to Kazakhstan and participation in the VII Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, Kazakhstan's presidential...

Standard & Poor’s reaffirms sovereign credit rating of Kazakhstan

The international rating agency Standard & Poor's confirmed on April 2 the sovereign credit rating of Kazakhstan at BBB-/A-3, with a stable outlook.According to...

Bulgaria to accelerate green energy transition

Akuo has announced that it has successfully secured the refinancing of a portfolio of five operational hydroelectric power plants in Bulgaria with a capacity...

Italy’s ENI inaugurates its second wind farm in Kazakhstan

Italian energy major ENI, through its local renewable subsidiary Arm Wind LLP, inaugurated on March 2 the Badamsha 2 Wind Farm located in the...

Romanians offer heartfelt support to Ukrainian refugees at the border

The war following the Russian invasion in Ukraine changed many lives. At the Romanian borders, we can see people that are heartbroken and have...

The economic bearpit – When “over there” becomes “over here”

An apology – with a ghastly diet of death, destruction and depravity currently raging around us, it may seem callous to examine the economic...