"... The irony is that this economy of 'mercy and pity' ... is linked to Lebanon’s continued role as an arena for regional struggles

"... It goes without saying that President Michel Suleiman enjoys the constitutional right to vote or not vote on any decision debated by the Cabinet. However, he must also keep in mind his few accomplishments during his term, the accumulating foreign and domestic dangers, and the country’s arrival every six months, almost like clockwork, at the brink of civil war.
Suleiman, Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Saad Hariri, each according to his position in the political regime, share huge responsibility for the ongoing deterioration in political and socio-economic life in Lebanon. Also responsible is every single Lebanese who voted during parliamentary elections to renew a crisis-ridden political elite that lacks competence and imagination...."