Grand Coalition Government: The Case of Lebanon

Abstract

To maintain political stability and to preserve the plurality and the diversity that characterise its societies, consociational democracies require, more than other states, a grand coalition government. In this type of democracy, the grand coalition is not a model that is used in exceptional cases, as in majoritarian democracies. It is a deliberate and permanent political choice. In Lebanon, following the modifications implemented by the 1989 Ṭā’if Accord, the Constitution instituted a collegial power-sharing within the executive that implies the establishment of a grand coalition which enables the political participation of the main Lebanese religious confessions in the government. On the other hand, the formation of the Lebanese Council of ministers since the spring of 2005 has become increasingly difficult and coalitions are often less stable than in the past. These laborious negotiations for unstable governmental coalitions are especially problematic in what may be called the perversion of the constitutional procedure by leaders of the parliamentary blocs.

The dissolution of the Lebanese parliament: A perverted application of the parliamentary system

“…For example, it took former Prime Minister Tammam Salam 11 months to announce a national unity government on 15 February 2014. More recently, after 257 days of political deadlock over ministerial portfolios, Lebanon's 75th government was formed on January 31, 2019, led by Prime Minister Saad Hariri (Badran, 2020). Seen in this light perhaps the dissolution of parliament should be viewed as a powerful political tool, and therefore, closely associated with the process of cabinet formation in Lebanon.…”