A Crippling Force

I think for those March 14ers, Naseer Al-As'ad summed it up nicely in his editorial piece today.

He asked the March 14 bloc to act as a team; we used to boast that the March 14 bloc is a loose umbrella bloc and not a homogenous party. But now as the March 14ers are getting squeezed further into a corner by a quickly-mobilizing force, the bloc needs more unity and requires a commanding, strategic force. He urged the March 14 bloc to act as a majority that can change the "face of the state" (wajh al-dawla) through its parliamentary force and through its government mandate, by having a clear message and clearly-defined goals.

It has quickly become apparent that Aoun and Hizbullah/Amal have concocted a strategy for turning the table and reversing the roles in the national dialogue. And that's why Al-As'ad went to assert that perhaps the May 16 national dialogue meeting will take place, but it is sure to be the last one.

Hizbullah takes part in the government and its ministers handle important services portfolios, such as the energy/electricity, agriculture, and labor. How come no one is asking these ministers why nothing is moving forward in their ministries? I thought they are accountable for their portfolios. Why is Hizbullah taking part in a demonstration that at its heart is calling for the fall of the government, when itself is part of that government? Al-As'ad writes that the aim is to create a public outcry that would eventually call for the fall of the government and new parliamentary elections.

So...if Hizbullah and Aoun cannot get what they want on the negotiating table, they will take it down to the streets. And so they fulfilled their promise.

And where does this leave us? Where do we go from here? Is the call for the March 14ers to act as a team means to use the majority rules to their maximum? Is consensus as a decision-making mechanism effective in our country, does it get us somewhere or nowhere? Is the solution going down to the streets (Geagea saying that March 14 came about as a result of March 8)?...

I see no solutions. I see a crippled government with its half (HA/Amal) engaging in anti-government activity, shooting itself in the foot. I can safely say that HA has failed in its first attempt at taking part in governing. It quickly criticizes, still living in the past when it used to be always in the opposition.

"Nobody knows how many rebellions, besides political rebellions, ferment in the masses of life which people earth."