In today’s news bulletin:

• The dollar exchange rate is in continuous rise, and next week will bring resounding surprises about the lira
• How did the martyr Rafik Bahaa Hariri rescue the Lebanese economy after the end of the disastrous civil war?
• The Resistance continues its penetration in the northern capital, reinforced by Hezbollah’s weapons and money

It’s settled. The Prime Minister-designate, Saad Hariri, made the difficult decision which he tried to avoid for more than 7 months. He finally realized that the policy of “buying time” no longer works, which consumes day after day, what is left of his credits, whether in the Sunni street or in Lebanese public opinion. After he discovered that Berri’s initiative hit the dead end, he decided to apologize for not forming the government next week. For this purpose, he initiated a series of meetings, which he started with a gathering of Beiruti families yesterday, and followed by a meeting at Dar al-Fatwa today. The purpose of the two meetings and those that follow are clear, that is explaining Hariri’s position, justifying it and providing the compelling reasons that will lead to an apology. But what Hariri will not be able to justify is related to two main things. The first is why he waited all this time to make his decision? Didn’t he realize, since the third month of his assignment, that he would not be able to do so, as long as his relationship is bad with the two people directly involved in the formation, who are the president of the Free Patriotic Movement and president of the Republic? So how did he believe the promises of President Berri and his assurances that things are going well, and that Aoun and Bassil will, in the result, submit to the formation rules that he set.

The second thing that Hariri will not be able to justify is how he became a hostage to the Shiite duo in their insistence on continuing the formation process, whatever the cost. He lost, on the way, almost all his allies, like the Lebanese Forces, the Progressive Socialist, and of course all the independent sovereigns. He was left with nothing, just attached to the Shiite duo, which he was exploiting him politically. And the maximum exploitation came from President Berri, who tried to settle his accounts with the Covenant through him. How could Hariri be content to turn into a mere “parafan” for Berri’s apparent and hidden goals? Is it normal for Hariri to become a key ally of Hezbollah, who is accused of killing his father through one of its elements?

We knew that it would be easy for Hariri to sell everything, but we did not know that the truth about who killed his father is also up for sale with Hezbollah.