Hezbollah Will Remain Strong after Elections

Western Media: Hezbollah Will Remain Strong after Elections
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08/06/2009 The Lebanese parliamentary elections remained, one day following its holding, an "international concern"…

According to Robert Fisk, the prominent journalist and columnist in the Independent, the first outcome of the elections is that there will be neither a Lebanese Islamic State nor a pro-Western state, but instead a government of 'national salvation' set to rule under a former General with an increasing authority.

Fisk, who said that Washington would have preferred that Saad Hariri, son of the assassinated ex-prime minister, came out with a clear win, noted that out of the shadows will come the same crippled, un-healable Lebanon.

"The electoral system – a crazed mixture of sectarianism, proportional representation and "list" fixing – means that no one ever really "wins" elections in Lebanon," Fisk said, adding that "the huge Shia vote – for Hezbollah and the Amal party and the Christians who follow the lead of the raving Christian ex-general Michel Aoun – made certain there would be no clear win for America's friends in the country."

Meanwhile, British daily Times said that Hezbollah might have lost in its battle to get a parliamentary majority in the most important and exciting elections in Lebanon's history. However, the Times noted that it wasn't possible to consider that Hezbollah went out the battle yet. "Insistence and determination is one of the basic features of Hezbollah since its creation twenty-seven years ago," the daily pointed out.

For its part, British daily the Guardian raised the issue of the electoral money and bribe that was spread prior to the electoral process as well as the phenomenon of bringing along expatriates to take part in the elections through free tours.

US daily New York Times went on to say that despite the fact that the opposition emerged as if it lost the elections, Hezbollah would remain the strongest Lebanese party at the political scene. "The biggest disappointment with the elections appeared to be that MP Michel Aoun fully preserved his parliamentary bloc," the daily said.

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