Lebanon designates new prime minister, Mustapha Adib, ahead of Macron visit
- Lebanon’s former envoy to Germany has been designated PM, and vowed to form a new government and begin implementing reforms
- French President Emmanuel Macron has put pressure on Lebanon to overhaul its complex sectarian system, as it reels from the August 4 blast
Lebanon’s under-fire political leaders on Monday designated a new prime minister, the diplomat Mustapha Adib, to tackle the country’s deep political and economic crisis, hours before French President Emmanuel Macron was due to visit.
Mustapha Adib, 48, Lebanon’s former envoy to Germany, acknowledged in a televised speech that there is “a need to form a government in record time and to begin implementing reforms immediately”.
He vowed to resume talks with the International Monetary Fund for assistance to the country, which is in the throes of its worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war and was traumatised by Beirut’s deadly August 4 explosion.
“I want your trust,” he was heard telling a resident of Beirut’s badly-hit Gemmayzeh neighbourhood afterwards, during a tour of the area devastated by the blast that rocked the city and further shook confidence in the political class.
Macron, who had toured the area two days after the disaster, was due to return on Tuesday and was expected to renew his calls for a radical overhaul of the country’s complex, sectarian political system.