Malaise

The parliament has finally given their vote of confidence to Nader Dahabi’s government. They gave him a record 97 (out of 110) yes votes. This has been called a “golden confidence” vote, in an allusion to the PM’s last name, which means golden.

Now, the farcical nature of the number of votes in favor of the government would not have been so annoying had it not be preceded by a week of discussions and posturing on the issue. During this week, we heard all sorts of valid and invalid complaints about this and former governments, public freedom and participation laws, economic policy and the nature of the makeup of the cabinet. A newbie or a naïve person would have concluded that the government is in trouble. A more experienced observer would have known that it is all for show, and would have predicted such a result.

It is understandable that MP’s want to show off their oratory to their constituents, and to implicitly suggest that they know what is going on. After doing that, the next logical step would be to vote in a matter consistent with your rhetoric. Why did the MP’s treat Dahabi and his cabinet as if they are the long awaited saviors? On the other hand, why didn’t they just shut up in the first place?

The executive branch still holds inordinate power in the country. Deputies who want to show results to their constituents do not want to get on the wrong side of the government. Constituents are only looking for small gains anyway. Getting a soldier hired, a teacher transferred, a school or a health clinic built. In a more perfect system, deputies would not have a role in minutiae of administration, and they would earmark money in the budget for schools and clinics without needing to appease cabinet members. The voters treat the parliament with cynicism, the parliament treats the government with cynicism, the parliament treats the government with cynicism and the press is attempting to take the whole thing seriously, and with a straight face.

Rami Khouri has an excellent article on the political situation on the country (thanks Mohanned). It boils down to this: Nobody thinks that it is worth it to tinker with the system. I suggest reading the whole thing.

Anyway, for all the MP’s who may read this, I say: Shut up. Attend the sessions and committee meetings. Do your job. Be fair and enlightened. I will like you better that way.

Did I mention shut up?