The evening of Thursday 19 December, and after a long wait, Lebanon’s parliamentary consultations named the new head of government: Former Lebanese Minister of Education and Higher Education Hassan Diab, who gained 69 votes.
The reaction from the Lebanese people, especially the revolutionaries, came quick and strong to express their refusal of Diab’s as their Prime Minister since they consider him part of the corrupt system that the revolution has been seeking to change for over two months now.
The people of the revolution, estimated at over 2 million Lebanese in the country alone, without counting the diaspora, simply refuse to get manipulated into accepting a prime minister that doesn’t fit their demands for a clean government.
At the announcement of the nomination, protesters didn’t only take to the streets and the usual revolutionary squares, but they also headed to the house of the nominated PM.
After a couple of brief statements made from his side, he finally gave an exclusive and first interview on OTV, held in his house. This is what Lebanon’s new (and controversial) head of the government had to say:
First to speak in the interview was his wife, Nouar Mawlawi Diab, who said that she has full trust in her husband’s ability to succeed as a PM. She added that her husband if more than capable to overcome any obstacles in his way to forming the new government.
@gold_shippoAs for the nominated PM Hassan Diab, he insisted on that there will be a big change in the new government, especially with regard to the primary female presence in it, all of whom will be specialists and will have the required competence.
As for the revolution and the current movements, he expressed his understanding of the people’s struggles that they have been facing for years.
He affirms that it is their right to claim their rights and express their opinions, and it is the government’s duty to understand them and work on solving their problems.
He also promised to give a priority to these problems, especially those related to their economic situation with the increase in the rate of poverty and the people’s needs.
Diab stated that his goal is to form a government of specialists and that all he is asking for is a short period of time; till Saturday.
He also said that “everyone” will have a place in the new government, and “everyone” as in “every Lebanese person.” For the formation to be at its best, he hoped that it will be assisted and supported by all Lebanese parties.
The PM insisted that he is an independent, saying that he does not follow any party and that he didn’t meet any member of Hezbollah or the Amal movements prior to his appointment. The only two political figures he met, according to him, were former PM Saad Hariri and Lebanese President Michel Aoun, who were both very supportive.
According to him, his next activity as the new PM and representative of the Sunni community in Lebanon will be a meeting with Al-Mufti, the religious head of his community. He assured that he will not back down and that the new government formation will be quick.
There has been an ongoing accusation on Social Media about him spending 70 million dollars of the ministry’s funds to print copies of his books while previously serving as a minister. To that, he explained in the interview that the cost was actually 12 thousand dollars and that he accordingly froze his salary that equaled 10 times the cost of these two books.
This was all that the newly nominated PM had to say of relevance. Of course, the Lebanese public is dwelling with many questions and we’ll have to wait for Saturday, which is close enough, to start seeing some answers in the actions he intends to take.
