DRM, The new challenge of Nassib Lahoud (Daily Star)

MP Lahoud''s challenge
TheDailyStar

For all his qualities, Metn MP Nassib Lahoud has not lived up to the expectations of those who support his gospel of reform. It is hard to blame him for this 'failure,' though, because the ascension of his cousin and rival, Emile Lahoud, to the nation''s presidency has tightly restricted his options: His eloquent condemnations of the status quo have had to become less passionate and less numerous, lest he appear to be expressing sour grapes. The MP''s formation of a new party offers an opportunity to compensate for his relative silence over the past couple of years, but this can only take place if his movement is as different from existing groups as he is from most of his fellow legislators. Specifically, the new grouping must steer clear of the ineffectual and often hypocritical sloganeering practiced by its opposite numbers. This means Lahoud has to avoid getting sidetracked by those who instinctively support what he would like to do but lack his ability to see issues from a truly progressive perspective. Many people agree with his ideals, but most still operate under the existing 'rules,' which necessarily adulterate the purity of purpose which meaningful reform demands. This is a front on which process is not only as important as product: It is the product. Lahoud''s goals are basically about instituting drastic changes in how things get done, and then trusting these improved methods to inexorably stamp out the Lebanese state''s woeful inadequacies. To do this, the MP will have to run a tight ship and enforce strict discipline so that his colleagues spend their time analyzing deficiencies and designing solutions rather than carping about this or that individual whom they happen not to like. But this will necessitate resources which the state simply lacks, especially in terms of qualified personnel whose loyalty is to the institutions they serve rather than to the political figures who got them their jobs. Without his usual fanfare, Prime Minister Rafik Hariri set the standard for this type of activity when he was in opposition. Hariri commissioned the former head of the Customs Department as a consultant to help draw up a new way of managing imports. Apart from simply lowering levies, Hariri also asked him to eliminate all of the nontariff barriers that were hampering trade and making consumer goods more expensive than they had to be. The result was Hariri''s new Customs Law, a document that is nothing short of revolutionary in its ambition to modernize the system and restore Lebanon''s historic role as a major regional trading hub. Lahoud and his confreres should adopt a similar procedure and then apply it to every facet of the state: Find the experts with the background to know what they''re talking about and the independence to produce unpoliticized policy proposals, publish the suggestions as 'white papers,' and then, detailed alternatives in hand, push the government to change its ways. The areas in which such an endeavor could benefit the Lebanese state, and by extension the Lebanese people, are too numerous to be listed here. Everything from the bureaucracy to the judiciary is broken, and the few measures taken to fix matters are proceeding at a snail''s pace. Nassib Lahoud, for instance, was one of the signatories to a much-needed draft law that would confer full independence on the judiciary. Only now has it reached the committee stage in Parliament after gathering dust for about two years in a so-called 'clearing house' that often serves as a semipermanent limbo for controversial legislation. Similar fates await any number of new policies over the next few years unless the machinery of the state can be ameliorated. Lahoud is one of the nation''s most gifted sons, and he has much to contribute to Lebanon''s revitalization. But even he will come up short unless his new grouping can maintain its focus and eschew 'business as usual.'