Lebanon forms coalition cabinet

16 February 2014

Cabinet split equally between country’s two main opposing factions

Prime Minister Tammam Salam presented Lebanon’s new cabinet on 15 February.

The 24-member cabinet, which Salam will be heading, is split equally between the country’s two main opposing factions – the Hezbollah-led 8 March movement and the Western-backed 14 March-movement led by the Future Movement. It also includes several centrist figures.

The formation of the cabinet puts an end to a 10-month stalemate in which the government found itself ill-equipped in dealing with the spillover of Syria’s war. Sectarian violence has increased in the country over the past year, while the influx of Syrian refugees since 2011 has led to tensions with the Lebanese population.

Amid these challenges, the cabinet will have to oversee the presidential elections by parliament in spring, work on the creation of a new election law and prepare for general elections, which were delayed in June 2013.

But it remains to be seen how effective the new cabinet will be as there is little cohesion between Lebanon’s major coalitions. Each supports a different side of the Syrian war – while Hezbollah has sent fighters to support the Syrian regime, the 14 March movement is aligned with the Syrian opposition, with some groups providing aid to rebel groups.

The political tensions led to the resignation of Salam’s predecessor, Najib Mikati, in April 2013.

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