The end of President Michel Suleiman’s tenure is drawing near, but there is nothing on the horizon that suggests a new president can be quietly and officially elected in accordance with the Lebanese constitution and on the dates set for May 2014. Moreover, given the lack of hope for forming a government that might be able to relieve this tiny country’s administrative state of paralysis, the spotlight has fallen on the current president in an attempt to determine what his next steps might be as Lebanon slowly heads toward a vacuum.
Suleiman does not have many options, but the responsibility entrusted to him is considerable. The post-Taif president does not have absolute powers. For instance, he cannot dissolve the parliament or call for early elections. Moreover, the decree on forming governments requires, in addition to his signature, the signature of the prime minister-designate. That said, the presidency has become the only functioning institution within the paralyzed body of the Lebanese republic, evidenced by the inability to form a government and the quasi-stagnation of the parliament, whose achievements of late have been limited to the renewal of its term and disruption of the judicial branch, in particular, the Constitutional Council because of its deference to the will of political forces.