❊ Regionalism Makes Lebanese Politics Complicated Again

Hello from Tripoli, the city “whose rights have finally been restored”. The capital of the north has apparently “gained its rightful place in history”. It’s amazing what 4 Ministers and a Prime Minister can do to a morale of a city which until recently was best known for its oriental sweets and good breakfasts. Banners are splashed all over the city with slogans like the ones quoted above.

There is no doubt that Mr. Mikati has played his cards well. Back in February, this is what I wrote on the upcoming Mikati government:

look out for some sort of grand gesture, an elaborate piece of theater, that the P.M could come up with to demonstrate his independence

As we now know, that grand gesture was the appointment of several ministers from Tripoli and a government that, for the first time since the Taef agreement, has more Sunnis than Shiaas. This was designed to undermine the argument that Hezbollah and the Shiaas control this government. It also helps Mr. Miqati who can now be portrayed as the man who gets things done for Tripoli.

In the years since 2005, Lebanese politics was seen as a constant struggle between March 14, the “pro western” block, and March 8, the “pro-Syrian, pro-Iranian” block. It was simplistic, but it more or less explained the dynamic taking place. Even the defection of P.M Walid Jumblat was explained away as being brought by a military threat by Hezbollah.

But Tripoli, where these lines are now being written, is taking Lebanese politics back to a muddled place. There is genuine giddiness in the city. The residents still care about the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, there is still no love lost for the Syrian regime, and there is still a lot of sympathy for Mr. Saad Hariri and his Future Movement.

But now, Mr. Miqati (one of us) is the man of the moment. He has worked hard and has come up with a government, and unlike Mr. Hariri who’s missing in action, he’s sticking around. To Tripoli, it now seems, all politics are back to local..