Nepal and Lebanon Form Governments

Nepal

            The non-communist republican party that had long been in opposition to the monarchy was able to form a government with the backing of the Marxist-Leninist Communist party, which will keep the Maoist Communists out of power.  The Marxist-Leninists will not join in the government, but will support its vote of confidence, which is necessary for a government to remain in power in a parliamentary system.

            I had posted in November in my post, Foreign Digest: Honduras, Nepal, Germany, Italy, http://williamcinfici.blogspot.com/2013/11/foreign-digest-honduras-nepal-germany.html, that because no party had gained a clear majority in the parliamentary elections, the ruling Maoists, who had led a violent rebellion against the monarchy they helped abolish after taking power, would be unable to turn Nepal into a totalitarian state, while the monarchists had clearly lost, which meant that Himalayan state would remain a republic.  With the three main parties usually close in popular support and each  exchanging power since the abolition of the monarchy, and thus unable to provide sufficient direction, Nepalese politics has been deadlocked and remains uncertain.  Nepal has been unable to initiate reconciliation by bringing the former Maoist rebels into the armed forces and to draft a permanent constitution, but the formation of a government gives it a chance to build republican institutions through a constitution that respects human rights and the rights of minorities.

Lebanon

            After a ten-month period of negotiations, Lebanon was able to form a national unity government that includes Sunni and Shi’ite Muslims, as well as Christians.  The unity government was necessary as Lebanese factiousness has been exacerbated by the Syrian Civil War, as the Sunnis and Shi’ites in particular were aligning themselves with their brethren in neighboring Syria, which had long dominated Lebanese politics.  There has been another spike in violence in Lebanon, which has again raised fears of a return to civil war.  It is hoped that Lebanon’s new government will contribute to Lebanon’s peace and greater independence.