All crises appear to be stuck on the cold line, whether when it comes to addressing the economic and living crisis, or regarding the timing of the “Tampa” talks, for which there is still neither confirmation nor denial. Tel Aviv remains silent, while Lebanon is preparing proposals for the military delegation to take to Florida.
The only one who turned up the heat was Energy Minister Joe Saddi, who “electrified the atmosphere” and suspended his decision to refrain from carrying out his duties on the “hot line.” He moved between Baabda and the Grand Serail, presenting his formal arguments for his decision to suspend his duties. In a meeting with the President of the Republic, he called for the underlying causes to be addressed, while reaffirming his commitment to continuing to assume his responsibilities at the ministry.
He then continued to make his case in a meeting with the Prime Minister, discussing ways to increase electricity supply and practical steps that could gradually extend power supply hours over the coming weeks and months.
With further discussions on the matter scheduled to continue during a special meeting to be held this Friday, it has become clear that Saddi will boycott Thursday’s Cabinet session.
However, the political performance launched by Saddi at his pre-prepared press conference in Maarab — scripted and directed in advance — did little to dispel suspicions that the Energy Minister was shirking his responsibilities. Instead, he sought refuge behind objections to waste at Electricité du Liban.
Rather than shutting down the “faucet of waste,” whose source is a director general who has effectively ruled over the energy sector for 25 years and whose tenure at the helm of the institution has now been extended, Saddi called for the ministry to be purged of corrupt officials.
Yet, at the same time, he protected the head of corruption and resorted to an unlawful decision based on a partisan directive. He would have been better off recording his objections in his resignation statement rather than placing what were unconvincing justifications in the record of his decision to suspend his duties.
Electricity has once again emerged as an old yet newly revived issue at the heart of the citizen’s cost-of-living crisis. But the President of the Republic warned against attempts to politicize the economic situation and exaggerate it for political purposes.
Familiar with the intricacies and hidden workings of the “deep state,” the President said efforts are underway to combat corruption, transition toward digital government, and improve the conditions of public administrations and state institutions — a process he said will not stop.
And while the public waits to see tangible results from the promises of his “mandate,” attention turned three years back, raising the question: If Yahya Sinwar had known… would he have done it?
Three years after the Al-Aqsa Flood, the aftershocks of the earthquake have yet to stop.
October 7 was not a spontaneous event, but the result of decades of occupation that eventually exploded in Gaza. Yet its flames spread across the entire region.
The price was enormous, and Lebanon bore one of the heaviest losses. Its repercussions included the collapse of an axis, the fall of regimes, and geopolitical shifts that overturned the balance of power, eventually opening new fronts in the conflict that extended to international maritime routes and global supply chains.
Yet the Al-Aqsa Flood also brought the Palestinian cause back to the forefront, under the banner of the two-state solution as the basis for regional stability. It placed Israel in growing international isolation, while its Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu — who is the subject of an arrest warrant as an alleged war criminal — continues to be haunted by the “October curse.”