Hezbollah has support despite lacking economic plan
Source: Reuters
By Yara Bayoumy BEIRUT, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Hezbollah supporters who have been staging a round-the-clock protest in central Beirut for three weeks cite corruption, tax and unemployment among their grievances against Lebanon's Western-backed government. But few of them have any clear idea how the militant Shi'ite Muslim group would tackle reform or manage a debt-ridden economy still suffering from the political paralysis that has obstructed recovery from the devastating July-August war with Israel. "The new government will be God's gift," said 22-year-old demonstrator Mohammed Sheheeby, when asked how Hezbollah would improve his standard of living if it gained the veto power it is demanding in a possible national unity government. Hezbollah, whose main financial backer is Iran, has no formal economic reform agenda, relying for popular support mainly on its guerrilla prowess against Israel and its provision of social services for its Shi'ite constituents. After the war, the group handed out thousands of dollars in cash to people whose homes were destroyed or damaged in the war. Hezbollah officials say the group has spent more than $300 million of Iranian money on postwar aid and reconstruction. Should the opposition factions become an integral part of any new government, it is unclear how they would tackle Lebanon's vast public debt and implement economic reforms. Shi'ite and Christian opposition ministers held posts in the 17-month-old government and did not resign until last month to back Hezbollah's demand for a national unity government. "The opposition in general ... haven't really articulated what they would do, how they would go about rectifying debt other than criticising it. They've had the luxury of doing that so far because all they've asked for is a blocking third (in the cabinet)," said Hezbollah expert Amal Saad Ghorayeb. "But now that they've called for early elections -- and there's a very good chance they're going to be a majority -- they're going to have to win over a lot of people by convincing them why they're entitled to such a majority and what they would do if they had it." HIZBOLLAH AIMS POLITICAL Hezbollah acknowledges that its primary focus for now is political, rather than economic. "Honestly, the main title for the opposition's movement is the political (issue). We consider that any political reform in the country will reflect positively on economic and social reform," Hezbollah parliamentarian Amin Shirry told Reuters. "So we said we'd go into economic and social issues through the government of national unity." The government has rejected Hezbollah-led demands for a decisive say in such a government. It denies charges that it is corrupt and accuses the opposition of damaging the economy by paralysing city centre businesses during its open-ended protest. It also says the crisis could disrupt a Paris aid conference in January which is expected to bring Lebanon billions of dollars of desperately needed aid. Hezbollah has voiced suspicion about the aid conference sought by Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, saying that Western donor nations will expect political favours in return for aid. The conference should help Lebanon cope with a crippling public debt of more than $40 billion, whose servicing costs consume at least two-thirds of government revenue. Hezbollah's young supporters camped out near Siniora's office in central Beirut are impatient for change. "The government is stealing from us, so there will be goodness in the new government," said Mohammed Silman, 25.
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