March 14 Opposition: Only Noise, No Action!

Hussein Assi

Since the government of PM Najib Miqati was formed, the Lebanese opposition proved to be outstanding in only making noise, with no action at all.

Since the first day, this opposition announced itself as fierce, and prepared itself to a long battle against the government. It did not hesitate to launch an international campaign against what it called the “coup” which led to the constitutional birth of the government, and promised itself that world powers would boycott the government.

Today, the opposition refuses to admit its failure. Yet. it dreams of toppling the government are still dreams, as no tangible action is expected from a political team that remains, until further notice, a subordinate to other foreign powers…

Accountability sessions: Show of force!

Formed by the main constituents of the so-called March 14 alliance, the opposition did not miss any opportunity without underlining its various talents and capabilities.

Its latest achievements were registered during the recent parliamentary accountability sessions. Indeed, the opposition succeeded in turning these sessions into a show of force that does not suit the lawmakers, supposed to be the representatives of nation.

Thus, the accountability sessions drifted away from the principles of the parliamentary work. The opposition lawmakers, and instead of holding the government accountable, decided to assume other responsibilities and found in the sessions another opportunity to target their rivals, at the top of whom comes the Resistance.

“Not even one opposition MP assumed his responsibilities, and the government was the winner,” a governmental source commented. “There was no serious accountability for the government, as the lawmakers preferred to exploit the sessions, broadcast live on TV, to show people that they have skills, nothing more,” the source added. “Although the government believes it did not fulfill all the policy statement promises, it was happy to see that the opposition had other preoccupations.”

The opposition lawmakers instead of addressing their responsibilities decided to target the Resistance.

According to the sources, the Resistance weapons seemed to be the first priority of the opposition lawmakers, a reality that has no relation at all with the government. “It’s true that the policy statement of the government gives credit to the Resistance, along the people and the state, in protecting the state, but this formula was adopted by the previous governments, included the ones headed by Fouad Saniora and Saad Hariri,” the sources highlighted. “To hold the government accountable, the prominent lawmakers should have scientifically raised the government’s work and its members’ performance. This did not happen, as nobody adopted such approach.”

Opposition wants to topple government, but…!

There’s no doubt the opposition intends to topple the government. But, there’s no doubt this opposition did not make any effort to achieve its ultimate goal. During the parliamentary accountability sessions, the opposition spoke of everything except of its plans to topple the government. The Resistance was a priority, alongside the Syrian cause. Opposition MPs pointed to the government’s foreign policy, and criticized its stance towards the Syrian cause, as if they wanted Lebanon to be in an official state of war with Syria, contrary to all norms and agreements, and instead of maintaining the brotherhood ties between the two neighbors. The opposition’s show did not include any part dedicated to the sufferings of the Lebanese people, although the situation of the Syrian refugees constituted another priority for them.

Overall, the opposition seemed to have missed the compass. “Their performance did not signal clear and significant plans,” a political source close to the majority said. “As Lebanese witnessed during the parliamentary sessions, the opposition does not even know what it wants, and even whether it really wants to topple the government or not,” the source added. “During the sessions, the lawmakers repeated the same stances. They claimed that the government was actually ‘dead’, they claimed that a new stage has started, but were not able to tell Lebanese about any achievement they have made.”

The sources pointed to another aspect of the sessions: the noise the so-called March 14 alliance caused.

“They found that the best strategy to prove their presence was making noise. Thus, they resorted to interrupt their colleagues from the other blocs whenever they made a point.” The sources pointed in particular to speeches made by Hizbullah, AMAL and Free Patriotic Movement lawmakers. “MP Hasan Fadlallah, for instance, was interrupted many times just because he uncovered them,” another source highlighted. “Their leader Fouad Saniora could not bear Fadlallah’s speech, and therefore he interrupted him more than once, under different pretexts including his feeling that Fadlallah was addressing his critics to him personally. Observers were able to understand Saniora’s real motives to distort Fadlallah’s speech,” the source pointed out, as it stressed that the same scenario was repeated with many other lawmakers.

Free gift… from opposition to government!

This is not everything. The main surprise of the parliamentary accountability sessions seemed to take place when the opposition, and instead of harming and damaging the government’s bases, chose to offer it a “free gift”. This happened when Phalange party MP Sami Gemayel insisted in calling for a confidence vote, in a step that Gemayel’s allies rejected as “negative distinction.” His call for the vote came after he asked Finance Minister Mohamad Safadi if he was planning to pay a $400 million compensation to Minister Nicolas Fattoush, owed to him and his brothers by the state for suspending the activity at their stone quarries.

Sixty-three MPs granted the government a vote of confidence as Gemayel was joined by his two party members, MPs Samer Saadeh and Fadi al-Habr in voting no after March 14 lawmakers walked out of the legislature. Those thought that, by leaving the Parliament, they would cause the “loss of quorum,” something did not happen after the three Phalange lawmakers remained in their seats.

The “misunderstanding” among the opposition’s constituents exposed again the alliance, to take any firm and tangible stance against the government. According to well-informed political sources, the main problem of this alliance remains in its failure to analyze developments and changes in the region. “The opposition turned the parliamentary sessions into an opportunity to confirm their pledges to their international masters, in relation to distorting the image of the Resistance and fueling sectarian discord,” the sources said. “It’s clear that the March 14 bloc is linking its return to power with two things. First, the toppling of President Bashar Assad, which is a failed bet. Second, the 2013 elections, which depends on a series of factors including the electoral money, distorting the image of the FPM and its leader MP Michel Aoun.”

Neutral government… Any chance?

Despite everything, the parliamentary “show” confirmed the March 14 failure in making any change or even just harming the government of Najib Miqati. Yet, this alliance resorted to another “discovery” to cover this failure, the proposal of a “neutral” government. The proposal was confirmed by the opposition’s “maestro”, former Prime Minister Fouad Saniora, who called for the formation of a “neutral government of technocrats” to supervise the elections, reduce tension and prepare for the next phase.

The proposal was, however, rejected by the government’s loyalists. “It’s not a logical proposal,” political sources said. “The first thing we have to ask ourselves is whether there was still something called neutral in Lebanon. Second, and most importantly, the opposition itself made this proposal out of context when it gave the government the gift of regaining the vote of confidence, which proved that the criticism it received was only political.”

According to the sources, the proposal has no chances of seeing light. “What are they afraid of?” the sources asked, as they recalled that it was not the first time a “non-neutral government” supervises elections. “Everything signals that this government, which became today and thanks to the opposition stronger than ever, will persist until the 2013 elections, and they have to accept this reality,” the sources stressed. “Let’s respect democracy and resort to the ballot boxes. That’s it.”

After three days of debates, the opposition declared its verdict: the government is already dead. However, one of its lawmakers, MP Sami Gemayel, went out of the March 14 unanimity not to call for a confidence vote. The result was that the government regained the trust of the Parliament, and announced itself more alive than ever.

It’s perhaps time for the so-called “fierce opposition” to admit the failure of its “strategy”, and declare “revolution” against itself!

Source: moqawama.org
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