Beirut basics - part III : Political

Political Beirut, like its population, is a blend of everything which exists in the country and in the Middle-east. No single party or ideology has the lead, and all of them fight, sometimes to the death, among its walls. Here is why :

First of all, it is the capital of Lebanon, home to its Parliament and all other political institutions, therefore representative of all Lebanese constituencies.

Second, being capital of Lebanon and Lebanon being a country sharing a border with Israel, most decisions taken at the regional or international levels affecting Israel will automatically have an impact on Beirut and Lebanese politics.

Third, Beirut is a combination of strong familial, political and religious communities and not unlike the rest of country, every party, family or community has some kind of allegiance to local and foreign ideals, parties or governments.

Fourth, it is the headquarter of most Lebanese political parties, even when those parties do not hold their popular roots in Beirut but since it is the capital, they have to be here in order to exert influence.

Fifth, Beirut is a very flexible financial and trade center home to important merchant communities for whom "everything is possible" by tradition, seeing the tangential nature or the rule of law and where funding can be relatively freely delivered to and from anywhere in the world, conveniently secretly.

Sixth and not less important, political Beirut is not only Beirut. Its southern suburbs are home to large swathes of the country's Shiaa population where the Hezbollah party holds seat, and its northern and eastern suburbs home to large Christian, mainly Maronite, populations whose allegiances are not homogeneous.

Due to all of the above elements and like all of Lebanon, Beirut is a political kaleidoscope which can switch colors and turn upside down at the willingness of history. Which makes it important, powerful, yet dangerous.