The National Bloc: No objections to the 2022 draft budget… only a show

The government has finally reconvened after a long hiatus as though nothing had happened. "The Duo" (Hezbollah and Amal) has ended the show with their return to Cabinet’s meetings after a deliberate boycott.

It is the same “duo” that claims to be safeguarding the government’s interests to justify its approval of a budget entitled "Absence of a plan, and the Lebanese people to bear the brunt of the crisis", after it had suspended the work of the Council of Ministers for three months in an attempt to muzzle a brave judge.

Rather, it is the same duo that obstructed the government’s formation efforts in the wake of the French initiative in August 2020 to maintain a tight grip on the Ministry of Finance, in a blatant violation to the constitution.

It is the same duo that appointed Youssef Khalil, the former advisor to the controversial Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon for years, as the Minister of Finance who drafted the underwhelming budget.

Perhaps the worst of all in this scene is the insistence of the political class to contempt the minds of the Lebanese, but we are all aware that this bunch of known corrupt, complicit and powerless are all responsible for our misfortune.

There is always hope, but the most important is to restore our national dignity in the upcoming parliamentary elections in May 2022 from those who consider lying, deception and ignorance to the people’s pain are permissible and justified.