Saad Hariri’s announcement — nearly a year after a deadly explosion at Beirut port forced the last government to resign — takes the political process back to square one and there is a clear risk of many more months of drift.
Lebanon’s Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri stepped down July 15, saying he was unable to form a government, nine months after accepting the challenge and as the country sinks deeper into crisis.
International donors remain adamant that a government must be established before they can provide funding, but political squabbling has repeatedly stymied such efforts and sent the currency to unprecedented lows that leave imported medicine and fuel increasingly unaffordable.
Sporadic clashes between the army and protesters flared July 15 evening, leaving an unspecified number of people wounded, medics said.
Mr. Hariri’s announcement — nearly a year after a deadly explosion at Beirut port forced the last government to resign — takes the political…