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“To predict the future, one must know the past, because the events of our world have always been linked to the preceding times.” One can add to this quote by Machiavelli that, to build the future, one must listen to those who have lived in and experienced the past. This especially applies to Lebanon, this mosaic of communities and cultures where behaviours related to the sectarian, tribal, familial, regional, and local (rural) backgrounds are deeply rooted in the social fabric.
Such realities, having a clear centrifugal effect, have resurfaced in recent years in some areas of the Middle East, as shown by the bloody conflicts and the bellicose climate that are shaking countries to their core. In this region, positions taken and sensitivities of all sorts strictly stem from oriental reflexes which are, in many cases, non-Cartesian.
Individuals who wish to dabble actively in politics and to have an interest in public affairs cannot afford to oversee these matters. If they do, they would be making a grave mistake.
Denying the many Lebanese social realities and despising the so-called “elders” is one of the underlying reasons behind the crisis within the National Bloc. In fact, this political party has been struggling with discord, as a number of its highly positioned staff have recently quit. Being convinced that decisions should nowadays be taken by the “youth,” and that those who remember the past stand in the way of “renewal,” National Bloc members have been clumsy and have committed mistakes of a psychological nature – much like the ones made by employees of private companies.
In this context, testimonies are legion. In an open letter addressed to the National Bloc’s secretary general, the party’s former representative in France has acknowledged the problem, denouncing a “deep rift between the old administration and the new,” one that was brought about by the current board that took control of the party a few years ago (since 2018, and late 2022 as far as the current secretary general is concerned). This rift is “making the party implode irreversibly,” she states, highlighting the absence of any “internal dialogue” within the institution itself.
Other high-ranking National Bloc members agree; they believe that the new administration has completely forgotten about Raymond Edde, historical and symbolic leader of the party, and son of the National Bloc’s founder, Emile Edde. Detractors are denouncing the “condescending” attitude of those who control the party. They perceive themselves as the “friends of Raymond Edde” and consider the new members as “intruders who use the notoriety and legacy of the National Bloc to satisfy personal ambitions.” The secretary general has rejected these accusations, claiming that the naysayers are “a minority serving the interests of traditional parties.”
Undoubtedly, trusting the young generation is a necessity, but it is far from enough, as the decision making process must include the veterans, in action not in words. An organization led by one man only is bound to fail, especially when most people are inexperienced and do not truly comprehend what Lebanon is about…