Lebanese prime minister-designate steps down amid economic crisis

Lebanon’s Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri resigned on Thursday following a meeting with the country’s president, a move that further delays the formation of Lebanon’s government amid an economic crisis. 

“I have excused myself from forming the government,” Hariri said after meeting with President Michel Aoun, according to The Associated Press. “May God help the country.”

In August 2020, former Prime Minister Hassan Diab announced the government’s resignation following an explosion at a port warehouse.

In October, members of parliament nominated Hariri to help form a new government, only a year after he resigned from the role amid mass anti-government protests over the dire economic situation in the country. 

Lebanon’s economy has been struggling since 2019 in part due to corruption and mismanagement, according to AP. The economy shrunk by 20 percent in 2020, with most of the country’s population living below the poverty line.  

Lebanon’s currency has also lost 90 percent of its value, and the country has experienced shortages in items like medicine and fuel, according to the wire service.

Over half of Lebanon’s population is in poverty and food inflation is over 400 percent, Al Jazeera reported. 

Hariri and Aoun have not been able to form a government since October, a lack of cooperation that has exacerbated the economic crisis. 

On Wednesday, Hariri had gave Aoun a list of 24 ministers for consideration. Following his meeting on Thursday with the Lebanese president, he said that the Aoun has asked for “fundamental” changes that he could not accept, the BBC reported.

Following Hariri’s decision to step down, the Lebanese pound hit a record low of over 21,000 pounds to the US dollar, according to Al Jazeera.

In a statement on Thursday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Hariri’s resignation “is yet another disappointing development for the Lebanese people. It is critical that a government committed and able to implement priority reforms be formed now.”

“Lebanon’s political class has squandered the last nine months. The Lebanese economy is in free-fall, and the current government is not providing basic services in a reliable fashion. Leaders in Beirut must urgently put aside partisan differences and form a government that serves the Lebanese people. That is what the people of Lebanon desperately need,” he added.