Why doesn't anyone campaign for the moderate vote in this election?

[Amirkani]

Originally Posted by Freethinker

And as for the FPM's reform agenda, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt that their heart is in the right place. The proof, however, is in the pudding. Let's see if they are willing to take on their "ally's allies" who everyone knows survive on patronage and have the biggest network of sleazy corrupt bureaucrats in every ministry, siphoning off millions from the treasury every year. I really hope we don't hear Aoun, a year or two from now, making a speech explaining why little has changed in terms of corruption and patronage by saying something like "We tried but this is the Lebanese formula, the whole system works against us, we made some progress but we cannot change decades of corruption in a short time"...But let's not prejudge, although I'm not holding my breath!

As a small indication of the magnitude of corruption that FPM will be facing, just read what Mario Aoun said about his own Ministry of Social Affairs... and this is one of the smallest ministries with one of the smallest budgets... I wonder what we will find in the other ministries with fat budgets.

If a minister feels that his employees, collectively, constitute nothing less than a mafia, we shouldn't be wondering anymore whether eradicating corruption will be done in 2 years... Tons and tons of dirt will be cleaned up even in the first year, but tons and tons will remain in need of cleaning for years to come.

Great institutions we will inherit!

زار وزير الشؤون الاجتماعية ماريو عون مركز الجمعية النسائية الخيرية في بلدة مزبود، وقال في تصريح بعد الزيارة:"أنا اقوم اليوم بزيارة الى الجمعيات المتعاقدة مع الوزارة من اجل الاطلاع على نشاطاتها شخصيا، وما زيارتي لهذا المركز الا وتأتي في هذا الاطار. انا من أولى اهتماماتي هو العمل الاجتماعي والانساني، وأود ان ألفت الى ان وزارة الشؤون الاجتماعية عليها واجبات عندما تتعاقد مع هذه الجمعيات التي تقوم بنشاطات عديدة ومشاريع في المجتمع، ومنها الاعمال الحرفية واليدوية والتدريبية الى غيرها من الاعمال، فهذه الاعمال يلزمها مساهمات من الدولة اللبنانية، لاسيما من وزارة الشؤون الاجتماعية، فالوزارة التي دخلت اليها منذ حوالي العشرة أشهر ويوجد فيها أمور كثيرة وعديدة بعيدة كل البعد عن مؤسسة وزارة الشؤون الاجتماعية، فانا دخلت الى مزرعة وليس الى وزارة وهذا الامر انعكس على الوزارة التي كان فيها 244 موظفا، وقد بقي منهم 90 موظفا، وان ما تبقى منهم اتهمتهم "بالمافيا"، وهذا الموضوع وما يجري من تجاوزات يومية دفعتني الى اتخاذ قرارات فأحلت بموجبها المديرة العامة ورئيسة مصلحة الديوان وبعض الممثلين للوزارة في بعض المراكز الاجتماعية في المناطق اللبنانية الى التحقيق، لان هناك تقاعسا في الوزارة ينعكس على حسن سير العمل".

[BOILER]

Originally Posted by Amirkani

As a small indication of the magnitude of corruption that FPM will be facing, just read what Mario Aoun said about his own Ministry of Social Affairs... and this is one of the smallest ministries with one of the smallest budgets... I wonder what we will find in the other ministries with fat budgets.

If a minister feels that his employees, collectively, constitute nothing less than a mafia, we shouldn't be wondering anymore whether eradicating corruption will be done in 2 years... Tons and tons of dirt will be cleaned up even in the first year, but tons and tons will remain in need of cleaning for years to come.

Great institutions we will inherit!

What if this ''silent majority'' or a big portion of it encourages this corrupt system, maybe it feels like being prosecuted or at least sees that FPM will work against its interests.
What if the corrupt people dominate the lebanese society?
Can we keep this possibility in mind? and will their voting if it happenned be for our side?

[Freethinker]

Originally Posted by BOILER

What if this ''silent majority'' or a big portion of it encourages this corrupt system...
What if the corrupt people dominate the lebanese society?
Can we keep this possibility in mind? and will their voting if it happenned be for our side?

That's not really a fair argument. People adapt to and manage within the system that is imposed on them. As we all know, the Lebanese political and economic system is largely based on sectarian patronage. This means that to a large extent, if you want to: get and keep a job or get promoted, get your kids into a decent school, get government formalities done promptly, open and run a business with minimal interference, and so on and so on, all the way to getting a good deal from a car mechanic, if you need to do any of those things, you need to be connected to the sectarian pyramid. The higher your connections up pyramid, the better your quality of life. Of course, the more empowered your sectarian leaders are (those at the top of the pyramid), the better your privileges. So you have a strong incentive to help keep them in power and increase their strength. If they grab a bigger piece of the pie than the other sects, hey, your share gets bigger too.

It takes a lot of courage and independence to resist getting sucked into this system. Those that decide to take the moral high ground and refuse to play the sectarian patronage game typically lose out economically and socially.

[Freethinker]

As-Safir reported today that 36,500 undecided voters in six electoral regions will tip the scale in the elections. I restate my original argument that little effort is underway by either party to win over the undecideds.

From the FPM's perspective, I would argue that they are focusing too much on administrative reforms (and dismal record of the current majority in that regard). Most undecided voters don't need convincing that the FPM would run the government much better than M14. The only reason they are holding back is that they are worried that the FPM will defer to Hezbollah foreign policy and Lebanon's alignment in the current regional conflict. FPMers consistently downplay this point in their focus on the reform agenda. They need to convince the undecided that the price of reform is not Lebanon joining the resistance and refusal front with all the possible negative economic and political repercussions this may entail.