Diplomatic warnings to Prime Minister Nawaf Salam of a cross-sectarian “social explosion.”
Diplomatic sources concerned with stability in Lebanon conveyed serious warnings to Prime Minister Nawaf Salam about the danger of letting the living crisis worsen, warning that the continuous rise in gasoline and diesel prices, in addition to the escalating cost of transportation and production, makes a social explosion closer than ever before.
The sources explained that the danger is not limited to limited demand protests, but rather goes beyond it to constitute a loophole that may explode in the face of the entire government unless it rushes to address its economic repercussions.
In the same context, the sources pointed out that Hezbollah may find in this reality a broader and more effective political space than that provided by sectarian discourse. It is impossible to bring together broad segments of the Lebanese under the title of confronting a Sunni prime minister, while demands for salaries, fuel, transportation, and the high cost of living have the ability to unite a cross-sectarian street.
The sources concluded by warning the government that leaving this loophole open is the most dangerous thing that can be committed, as the high cost of living may turn from a life crisis into a unifying political platform against it, which gives Hezbollah the appropriate entry point to regroup the street under social, not sectarian, slogans, and transform the living pressure into direct political pressure on Nawaf Salam and his government.
