Lebanon is struggling to create a new government to replace Prime Minister Hassan Diab and his cabinet, who resigned on Monday following the Beirut explosion.- President Michel Aoun has now asked Prime Minister Hassan Diab and his cabinet to stay in office until a new cabinet is formed, The Wall Street Journal reported.
- A new government could take months to form.
- Last week, at least 150 people were killed and 5,000 more were wounded after a massive explosion at the Port of Beirut.
- The country is also going through its worst economic collapse in decades.
After Lebanon's cabinet resigned on Monday following last week's explosion in Beirut, President Michel Aoun has now asked Prime Minister Hassan Diab and his cabinet to stay in office until a new cabinet is formed, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Aoun said Diab's cabinet would have limited powers during the transition period, but the decision to keep the former cabinet in place came after there was no agreement on who should replace Diab.
"We're in a free fall, into the abyss frankly," Maha Yahya, director of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut told The Journal. "If we don't get a government in place quickly and they begin to provide some sort of a road map for getting out of this abyss, the only way is down."
At least 150 people were killed and 5,000 more were wounded after a massive explosion at the Port of Beirut last week.
Business Insider previously reported that Diab said the blast was caused after more than 2,750 metric tons of ammonium nitrate that were stored at a warehouse were ignited.
Protesters have been demanding that the entire country's political elite step down amid claims of corruption and mismanagement.
"Everyone responsible for this disaster should be punished, not only this government. They ruled the country for only nine months. How can we blame them?" Hassan Hammoud, a 45-year-old restaurant owner told the Journal. "It's the whole regime, the whole system."
The country was nearing towards a famine prior to the explosion with the worst economic crisis in decades and the coronavirus pandemic, Business Insider previously reported.
The Lebanese pound has continued to lose its value since initial protests began in October 2019. Many residents lost their jobs as the price of food and basic goods continued to rise.
The Journal reported that the country's different religious and political groups would have to agree on a newly formed government, which in past negotiations has taken months.
Any new government would have to handle the economic crisis that is poised to leave as much as 75% of the country in poverty, according to the World Bank, the coronavirus pandemic which is overwhelming the country's healthcare system, as well as the aftermath of the explosion.