BEIRUT — Once again, Nawaf Salam’s government continues its political ineptitude, not least the statement by Foreign Minister Youssef Rajai (or rather, the Lebanese Forces Foreign Minister) that “the [Lebanese] people no longer want the wooden equation,” referring to the national triangle of Army-People-Resistance.

MP Sayyed Ibrahim al-Moussawi, a member of Hezbollah’s Loyalty to the Resistance bloc, urged Rajai to question the Minister of Interior about who these people had recently elected!

Al-Moussawi denounced the government’s anti-Resistance rhetoric, saying: “In vain, we offer them a golden equation while they insist on wooden equations. It seems there is a straw in their eye that prevents them from seeing through this golden equation.”

The Hezbollah MP added, “It is shameful and disgraceful for such statements to come from someone entrusted with the responsibility of diplomacy, and the responsibility of condemning the daily Israeli occupation, aggression, and assassinations.” 

Nawaf Salam’s government is merely a tool for the Washington-Riyadh hostile project.

Literally, it’s a company and its ministers are temporary employees whose main mission is attacking the Resistance and appeasing the two Big Brothers, Washington and Riyadh, instead of providing services to citizens and monitoring their affairs!

As for the Salam government’s alleged efforts to combat economic, financial, and legal corruption, no reform has been achieved!

Besides, the dilemma of the citizens affected by the Israeli war is not at the top of this sterile government’s priorities, because they are: Others!

Severe electricity rationing, especially in Shiite areas, has revived the political oligarchy’s sadism of collective sectarian revenge. How could it not be, when Joe Saddi, the Minister of Energy, like the Minister of Electricity, is also the Minister of the Lebanese Forces!

For her part, Rima Karami, the Minister of Education, delegated to Tripoli (the capital of northern Lebanon, known for its conservative environment and even her birthplace) two AUB’s trainers to deliver a workshop urging female students to engage in illicit relationships and push them toward LGBTQ.

Karami did not bother to develop an emergency plan for schools threatened by the ongoing U.S.-led Israeli aggression, and failed to develop action plans that take into account their psycho-social circumstances.

Furthermore, the Minister of Education sought to introduce a subject promoting the fabricated Abrahamic religion, which aims only to prepare students’ collective awareness for normalization with Israel.

Meanwhile, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, describing his current relationship with Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, said: “If escalation is desired, we will escalate, and if reason is desired, we will respond in kind.”

In an interview with the Lebanese newspaper Al-Joumhouria, Berri affirmed his commitment to cooperating with UNIFIL forces in the south “whether oppressor or oppressed,” warning that any quarrel between them and the residents only serves the interests of “the Israeli enemy, which does not want them to remain in the south.”

Berri reiterated his assertion that “with the approaching renewal of the UNIFIL mandate, no mistakes should be made on the ground that could be exploited by those seeking to end its mission in Lebanon or perhaps amend its powers.”

Commenting on the reconstruction of what was destroyed by the ongoing aggression, Berri emphasized that this is a top priority for him, adding: “It is the government’s responsibility—whether it likes it or not—to fulfill its duty in this regard and place the reconstruction issue at the forefront of discussions with brotherly and friendly countries, especially since it has begun strengthening Lebanon’s relations abroad.”

Regarding linking reconstruction funding to the withdrawal of Hezbollah’s weapons from all of Lebanon, Berri firmly stated: “We have fully implemented what was required of us south of the Litani River under the ceasefire agreement. As for the rest of the regions, the agreement does not provide for this!”

Commenting on the results of the municipal and mayoral elections, the Parliament speaker pointed to the qualitative success of the Shiite duo, Hezbollah and the Amal Movement, particularly in the capital, Beirut, the top legislator said, “where we succeeded in raising the Shiite voter turnout from approximately 9,000 to approximately 19,000, compared to the 2016 elections.” 

Berri further praised the commitment of the Shiite duo’s popular base, which “showed a high sense of responsibility, which allowed for the preservation of [sectarian] parity at this critical stage... as Beirut is the capital of Lebanon and its beating heart, and therefore any division or partition there will be reflected in all of Lebanon and will extend beyond municipal borders to something more dangerous.”