Lebanese leaders named diplomat Mustapha Adib as the new prime minister, under pressure from French President, Emmanuel Macron, who will visit Beirut to press for reforms aimed at dragging the Middle East nation out of a financial crisis.
Adib, who has been Beirut’s Berlin envoy since 2013, is affiliated with a small Sunni party headed by former Prime Minister Najib Mikati. On Monday, he received the endorsement of most parliamentary blocs, including Iran-backed Hezbollah and the Saudi-backed party of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri.
“There is no time for talk, promises and wishes. It is a time for action,” Adib said, in a short acceptance speech from the presidential palace where President Michel Aoun tasked him with forming the country’s next government.
He called for the formation of a government in record time, an immediate start to reforms and an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Lebanon’s talks with the IMF on vital support have been stalled since early July.
“There is no time for talk and promises … It’s the time to work with everyone’s cooperation,” Adib said, adding that he aimed to form a team of competent specialists.
After his address the PM-designate headed to the neighbourhoods of Gemmayze and Mar Mkhayel, which were heavily damaged by a blast that ripped through Beirut earlier this month.
Adib’s designation comes a day ahead of the September 1 deadline set by Macron for “political change.” Macron is set to arrive in Beirut on Monday evening to mark the centennial anniversary of Greater Lebanon, the precursor for the modern state, which was established by France.
Since the explosion at the country’s main port, Macron has sought to broker a resolution to end Lebanon’s political and economic crises.
Macron made a series of phone calls to Lebanese leaders at the weekend that were vital to securing consensus on Adib.
“It was the pressure of his calls to everyone, the pressure of his coming to Lebanon, the pressure of everyone not wanting to upset him,” a senior Lebanese politician said.
Ahead of his visit, the French president called on the international community to help, cautioning about the threat of a return to “civil war” if the tiny eastern Mediterranean state is not aided.
Lebanon’s economic meltdown, which saw its currency tank and poverty rates soar, has prompted unrest across the country as popular disgruntlement against the political elite grows.
It will take some time for Adib to win the trust of the Lebanese population as popular protests have frequently cropped up after the August 4 blast laid waste to several neighbourhoods in Beirut, killing 190 people and injuring more than 6,000.
The explosion has been linked to government neglect of nearly 3,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate which had been stored at Beirut’s port for six years.
Days after the blast, the government of Prime Minister Hassan Diab, a self-styled technocrat, stepped down. In his resignation speech, Diab chastised Lebanon’s political elite, accusing them of hindering economic and political reforms.
