For weeks now, conversations in Lebanon have largely centred around the parliamentary election on Sunday. "Whom to vote for?" "To vote or not to vote?" "Will there be change?" "No, there is no hope – the same old crowd will win again."
More than two years after nationwide, anti-government protests failed to bring about any meaningful change in the economically crippled and politically dysfunctional country, ordinary Lebanese seem resigned to "business as usual", even after the vote is finished. The election is the first since the onset of a financial and banking crisis that has left a majority of the country in poverty. It is also the first since the Beirut Port blast in August 2020, which killed more than 200 civilians, and for which few have so far been held accountable.
One of the primary reasons for the widespread disenchantment is political entrenchment. People are fed up with the various factions that have come to dominate Lebanese politics since the end of the 1975-1990 Civil War.
The country's "confessional" political system, established after the Taif Agreement was signed by warring parties in 1990, divides power among Christians and Sunni and Shiite Muslims, as well as others, in both the executive and in Parliament. Over the years, this system has given the established parties and their leaders – particularly those with large war chests and considerable influence over their communities – an almost guaranteed return to power.
Change takes time. And it needs to start somewhere
And so, politics in the country has, for the most part, been dominated by the Sunni Future Movement, helmed by the Hariri family, the Shiite blocs comprised of Hezbollah and the Amal Movement, and the Christian-led Free Patriotic Movement and Kataeb Party. For many Lebanese across a wide cross-section of society, leaders of these blocs and others do not represent them, for they have run the national economy to the ground and turned Lebanon into something of a failed state.
There are undoubtedly new faces contesting in this election. Some of them are activists who came together during the 2019 protests and united people, irrespective of sect or social class. Their participation was an unprecedented moment in Lebanon’s recent sectarian history. As a result, they have generated a fair amount of buzz among the electorate. The interest is particularly high among the diaspora, including the 100,000 or so who have reportedly cast their vote in advance from abroad.
And yet, the overarching sentiment among voters is that of cynicism. This is because, as per the confessional system, they can vote only for the representatives of the sects to which they belong.
This is especially frustrating, as the past two years have been the most difficult for Lebanon. So difficult that many say that even the Civil War era presented fewer economic challenges.
Indeed, Lebanon's gross domestic product has plunged to an estimated $20.5 billion last year from about $55bn in 2018. Describing it as a degree of contraction of the kind usually associated with conflicts, the World Bank has ranked Lebanon’s collapse as one of the worst globally since the middle of the 19th century. Furthermore, the Lebanese pound has lost more than 90 per cent of its value, which has driven up costs. The country is more reliant on imports than ever.
One particularly stark example of disaffection lies within the Sunni communities living in north-western Lebanon. They have been left rudderless after the recent retirement of former prime minister Saad Hariri from politics. Mr Hariri’s exit from the political landscape has left the country without a once-powerful counterweight to Hezbollah’s influence, which extends into the Christian-led parties. Mr Hariri’s supporters, and the Sunni community in general, worry that this void will only make the Iranian-backed Hezbollah even more dominant.
As much as Lebanese people aspiring for a better country want to see change happen quickly, the opposition parties don’t have the influence or the finances to compete with the entrenched groups. Opposition unity has also been lacking.
All things considered, however, there is still scope for optimism. Change, after all, takes time. And it needs to start somewhere.
Ultimately, Lebanon's strength lies in the public. A country that ranks in the top 100 on the global human development index and seventh in the Arab world has young, dynamic and aspirational citizens, and an active civil society.
Their efforts at bringing about change is unlikely to bear fruit in this election. But there can be little doubt it will happen in due course of time.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Biography
Her family: She has four sons, aged 29, 27, 25 and 24 and is a grandmother-of-nine
Favourite book: Flashes of Thought by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid
Favourite drink: Water
Her hobbies: Reading and volunteer work
Favourite music: Classical music
Her motto: I don't wait, I initiate
Tonight's Chat on The National
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster with a decades-long career in TV. He has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others. Karam is also the founder of Takreem.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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Match info
Huddersfield Town 0
Chelsea 3
Kante (34'), Jorginho (45' pen), Pedro (80')
Huroob Ezterari
Director: Ahmed Moussa
Starring: Ahmed El Sakka, Amir Karara, Ghada Adel and Moustafa Mohammed
Three stars
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Things Heard & Seen
Directed by: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
Starring: Amanda Seyfried, James Norton
2/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Schedule:
Friday, January 12: Six fourball matches
Saturday, January 13: Six foursome (alternate shot) matches
Sunday, January 14: 12 singles
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The struggle is on for active managers
David Einhorn closed out 2018 with his biggest annual loss ever for the 22-year-old Greenlight Capital.
The firm’s main hedge fund fell 9 per cent in December, extending this year’s decline to 34 percent, according to an investor update viewed by Bloomberg.
Greenlight posted some of the industry’s best returns in its early years, but has stumbled since losing more than 20 per cent in 2015.
Other value-investing managers have also struggled, as a decade of historically low interest rates and the rise of passive investing and quant trading pushed growth stocks past their inexpensive brethren. Three Bays Capital and SPO Partners & Co., which sought to make wagers on undervalued stocks, closed in 2018. Mr Einhorn has repeatedly expressed his frustration with the poor performance this year, while remaining steadfast in his commitment to value investing.
Greenlight, which posted gains only in May and October, underperformed both the broader market and its peers in 2018. The S&P 500 Index dropped 4.4 per cent, including dividends, while the HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index, an early indicator of industry performance, fell 7 per cent through December. 28.
At the start of the year, Greenlight managed $6.3 billion in assets, according to a regulatory filing. By May, the firm was down to $5.5bn.
What is a black hole?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Jetour T1 specs
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The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
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Brief scoreline:
Manchester United 2
Rashford 28', Martial 72'
Watford 1
Doucoure 90'
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Tell-tale signs of burnout
- loss of confidence and appetite
- irritability and emotional outbursts
- sadness
- persistent physical ailments such as headaches, frequent infections and fatigue
- substance abuse, such as smoking or drinking more
- impaired judgement
- excessive and continuous worrying
- irregular sleep patterns
Tips to help overcome burnout
Acknowledge how you are feeling by listening to your warning signs. Set boundaries and learn to say ‘no’
Do activities that you want to do as well as things you have to do
Undertake at least 30 minutes of exercise per day. It releases an abundance of feel-good hormones
Find your form of relaxation and make time for it each day e.g. soothing music, reading or mindful meditation
Sleep and wake at the same time every day, even if your sleep pattern was disrupted. Without enough sleep condition such as stress, anxiety and depression can thrive.
