No Indicators for Unraveling Inherited Financial Crises

On the eve of the holiday break, no indicators have emerged suggesting that Lebanon is on a path to unraveling its financial crises inherited from 2022 and previous years (2022 and 2021). These crises have been exacerbated by a persistent stalemate in the presidential election process, raising fears that the vacancy in the presidency, which began on November 1, may prolong itself. Tensions are escalating internally on multiple interconnected "fronts," linked to the "cold presidential war" or branching out from it (such as the caretaker government's sessions, the mechanism for managing public affairs, and the signing of decrees). There is also a lack of any external perspective that could assist in breaking the deadlock, pointing to a potentially more somber phase indicated by "compelling evidence" that was not absent even from the "forecasts" of New Year's Eve, despite some analysts betting on a "magic wand" in the new year that could lead Lebanon to relief, as reported by "Al-Rai" in Kuwait.