Harb For President

The Beirut Spring wholeheartedly supports the candidacy of Boutros Harb for the Lebanese Presidency.

It is perhaps ironic that, for the first post-Syrian peace era, The Beirut Spring endorses a man whose last name means “war”. Yet Mr. Boutros Harb, although not the most handsome of men, is the best candidate in Lebanon for the presidency.

In a previous post, I have concluded, by elimination, that the only two reasonable candidates for the presidency are Mp. Michel Aoun, and Mp. Boutros Harb. That was regardless of my personal preference and affinity for Ex-MP Nassib Lahhoud.
Michel Aoun is a man that this blogger greatly respects; I even think that he would make a good president. But, not least because he’s a less polarizing figure, Butros Harb will make an even better one.

To say, however, that Mr. Harb deserves to be president only because he’s passable among a mediocre bunch of politicians does not do him (nor the other candidates) justice. Mr. Harb is a man of character, a unifying figure and a veteran politician.

Mr. Harb is no one’s stooge. His legislative history shows a remarkable degree of independence and a deep seated concern for the General good of Lebanon.
He’s a bridge builder. He has firm positions on issues like the disarmament of Hezbollah and the independence from Syria, but he’s also keen on operating carefully and incrementally. He cares for Patriarch Sfeir’s opinions but also listens those of Hassan Nassrallah and Saad Hariri.
Furthermore, a President Butrous Harb would insist on monetary accountability, but he would not have a pre-disposition to prosecute politicians who are widely perceived among certain groups to be “corrupt”.

Mr. Harb seems to be the only political compromise in the prevailing political environment. The fact that none of the Lebanese parties will fully support him is the best indication of that. Hariri and Jumblat would have wanted someone of less caliber to order about. The Shias fear his disarmament and anti-Syrian stances. The Christians think that he’s too close to the other parties.
The only party that might support his candidacy, in addition to a big part of the Lebanese population and this blog, is the international community.

In short, The Beirut Spring can predict with a fair amount of certainty that Mr. Harb will make a good president. Whether or not he becomes a great one is up to him.