Lebanon’s president tasked former Prime Minister Saad Hariri with forming a new government Thursday, bringing back the veteran politician a year after he was toppled amid nationwide protests against widespread corruption and a flunking economy.
President Michel Aoun designated Hariri to form the next government after a slight majority of votes from lawmakers, securing the return of an old name to lead the country desperate for change. Hariri now faces a more impoverished Lebanon, devastated by a massive August explosion that defaced Beirut, but also a more determined opposition.
The 50-year-old politician takes the helm with a sense of urgency and more involvement by international leaders who have warned Lebanon is on the verge of collapse.
Hariri pledged to quickly form a new government — his fourth in the last decade — to halt the economic collapse, calling it the “last and only” opportunity.
The task is enormous, amid an unprecedented economic crisis and stiff opposition, including from former political allies and protesters who had been demanding change.
“Saad, don’t dream of it,” read posters raised by protesters, who see him as a symbol of an entrenched political class they blame for the country’s woes.