The issue of violence thus apparently shrugged off, it remains for Lebanon to address the thorny problem of political and economic reforms, an area in which practically everything has to be started all over again. Especially getting over the legendary procrastination, which has so far meant that the most pressing issues are constantly referred from one government to the next, finally to be hastily dealt with and make a botch of the job!
The two most recent examples are the new electoral law and the draft budget for 2018. The former is an abysmal mix of proportional representation and communitarian preferential voting, which has come to obfuscate the voters. As for the 2018 budget, it was patched together under pressure from international investors, overshadowing the necessary structural reforms and stopping short at a 20% cut in spending imposed on the various ministries.
In Lebanon, gunfire has indeed ceased. All that the political class needs now is a measure of maturity to be able to admit that governance is above all public service.