End to crisis in Lebanon

The election of Maronite leader Michel Aoun as the new, long-awaited, president of Lebanon should put an end of the 29-month-long paralysis in the country left rudderless for lack of consensus on a new president.

A Tehran supporter, Aoun was able at last to garner the backing of the main factions — long-time ally Hizbollah and the political group headed by former Sunni prime minister of Lebanon Saad Hariri — and get elected, further tilting the balance of power in the region towards Iran.

The long period without a head of state compounded the many sectarian and ideological conflicts in the country, leaving it easy prey to foreign interference.

The election of a president in Lebanon means one less crisis in our region that has been swamped in conflicts. It is a positive development that, one hopes, will lead to greater security and stability in the Middle East.

Aoun’s administration will no doubt have daunting challenges to deal with, including how to make the many political factions in the country support a central authority and make it strong.

The new Lebanese president pledged during his inaugural speech to work to free his country from foreign interference and keep it out of the “regional fires”.

That would be a good start for Lebanon.

With Hariri poised to assume the post of prime minister, the stage is indeed set for the return to normalcy and stability in Lebanon.

This positive development might even usher in a new era for the entire region and open up new vistas for dealing with other regional crises.

Aoun, a staunch critic of the Syrian regime, shifted his position since he came back from exile in France and became a powerful political presence, winning Iran’s patronage.

Maybe this position will work towards finding a political solution to Syria whose people, ravaged by almost six years of war, are in great need of peace.