Lead:
Over the past 96 hours, opinion writers at Ad-Diyar have focused on three intersecting crises: the constitutional dispute between Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Defence Minister Michel Manssi over parliamentary authority; the fragility of Lebanon's ceasefire negotiations with Israel amid continued military violations; and the competing regional and international influence campaigns reshaping Lebanese governance from external capitals.
Voices & Positions:
In Ad-Diyar, an unnamed columnist argues that President Joseph Aoun's intervention to mediate between Salam and Manssi reflects deeper institutional instability rooted in Lebanon's sectarian and patronage systems. The columnist contends that the government's survival depends less on domestic legitimacy than on foreign strategic calculations.
In Ad-Diyar, a columnist asserts that diverging American and Israeli positions on southern Lebanon negotiations represent the primary obstacle to resumed talks, suggesting Washington seeks a sustainable settlement while Tel Aviv pursues tactical advantage.
In Ad-Diyar, an analyst warns that the Free Patriotic Movement and Hezbollah's coordinated parliamentary absences during recent amnesty and death penalty votes signal a realignment that could destabilize the Salam government.
In Ad-Diyar, another writer questions whether Ahmed al-Assir could emerge as a future prime minister, reading this possibility through the lens of shifting Lebanon-Syria relations and great-power recalibration.
In Ad-Diyar, a commentator contends that Lebanon cannot escape confessional logic while major strategic alliances—American, Turkish, and Saudi—continue to treat the country as a proxy arena rather than a sovereign state.
Tension & Convergence:
Most columnists converge on one point: Lebanon's government operates under external constraint, not internal consensus. However, they diverge sharply on diagnosis. Some blame constitutional ambiguity and ministerial competition; others emphasize sectarian manipulation and patronage networks; still others focus on geopolitical abandonment. No columnist suggests the Salam cabinet possesses independent room for maneuver.
Editorial Takeaway:
The dominant voice today is that Lebanon's political system remains structurally incapable of autonomous decision-making and will continue to fracture along lines drawn by foreign powers rather than domestic law.