Some outsiders speculate that Syria’s grip might be slipping. This election was Lebanon’s first since the death last June of the man who had ruled Syria since 1971, Hafez Assad. All the same, none of the parliamentary winners–Hariri included–has any history of defying the will of Damascus. The Syrians are expected to have an ample say in forming Lebanon’s new government.
The new prime minister will face a herculean job. Economic growth swooped from a 1994 peak of 8 percent to below zero last year. This year is expected to be scarcely better. Meanwhile the national debt has exploded to $21 billion–140 percent of GDP, a burden rivaled by few other countries in the world. “Hariri fully knows that’s why he was elected with such a sweeping mandate,” says Nassib Ghobril, an analyst for the financial firm Lebanon Invest. “He is best placed to put the country back on track.” That in itself would be a superhuman feat–with or without the backing of Damascus.
