Lebanon is back to square one. The Lebanese people, who felt optimistic about reaching a settlement after a majority agreed on General Michel Sulaiman as a presidential candidate, have to live again without hope in the future, thanks to the "veteran" politicians who, once again, proved that they don't care about the stability of the country and peace for their people.
The leaders, who were shuttling from one meeting to another in the political bazaar held in Beirut last month, left no doubt that their main interest was fulfilling their personal dreams at the expense of their helpless people.
As a result of the unscrupulous way in which they handled an important issue like electing a new president, the future of the country is in peril, and no one seems to know when the situation will get out of control, the way it did in 1975.
Each of the leaders who was involved in one way or another in the 1975-1990 civil war lacks the quality of statesmanship, as was rightly pointed out by the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, because they don't care about "playing with matches" in their inflammable country.
Some Lebanese blame the current deadlock on the interference of foreign powers, but the seventh postponement of the parliamentary meeting proved beyond doubt that the Lebanese should blame their own leaders first.
Yes, the auction being held in Lebanon for the post of president is a bazaar, and the bargaining taking place in this bazaar is no better than that in any oriental bazaar.
Sometimes the politicians seem to bargain for the sake of bargaining - whenever the dealer accepts the price offered by the buyer, the buyer pretends that the goods on offer are not up to the standard, and thus he is not interested in buying the goods unless they are offered at a lesser price. Hence, the bargaining goes on and on with no end in sight.
Experienced buyers do not finalise the deal before getting what they think is the best price. That is exactly what happened between the majority and the minority forces in Lebanon in their endeavour to reach an agreement over a presidential nominee.
Commodity
What is more dangerous than bargaining is the fact that the scenario of how to buy a commodity at the lowest price was played out over and over in the past few weeks, with very little concern about the deadline for the auction.
The bidding time expired when president Emile Lahoud vacated the Ba'abda palace more than a week ago.
But the politicians entrusted with electing a new president were least concerned about meeting the deadline. The result: Lebanon has had no president for about 10 days and has no hope of getting one any time soon, regardless of the optimistic statements by different politicians in front of television screens.
Iran might have some interest in extending the delay in electing the president so as to better suit its political interests.
Syria might have some vetoes against some actors here or there, and exert some influence on its loyal actors in Lebanon to direct the game to suit its interests. But those on stage in Beirut's political theatre are the ones to be blamed.
Lebanon, with all its cultural traditions, deserves better leadership and politics.
The members' failure to convene parliament in order to elect a new president should be taken seriously. It is a sign that Lahoud might become the last president of Lebanon's second republic, which was created after the Taif Agreement in 1989, and anything can happen in the future, including another devastating civil war in this small country.
General Michel Aoun, 72, who said recently that the situation cannot get worse than it is now, must have forgotten the history of the civil war, in which he was a major player in the closing chapter before he was forced to move to France in October 1990.
The suspension of or an amendment to the Taif agreement - as the minority led by Hezbollah and its ally Free Patriotic Movement of General Aoun is currently demanding - is very dangerous for Lebanon and the Lebanese, because the Taif deal has been preserving the civil peace and stability in Lebanon for the past 18 years.
Scrapping the agreement or meddling with the balance it has created might result in the resumption of civil war, along the same sectarian lines as in 1975.
Dreams
The different solutions proposed during the last bargaining session by General Aoun himself might have been ideal in an ideal Lebanon that does not exist - except in Aoun's dreams.
Forcing such dreams on other factions in the country, who are not ready yet to accept Aoun's idealism, is not a good idea at this stage, because it would be like adding fuel to fire.
Aoun should be a little more pragmatic in his solutions.
He should think of a realistic way out of the deteriorating situation in the country. Standing on a false belief that the situation cannot become worse will do no good.
Electing a compromise president is the way out at this stage even if it means that Aoun will have to wait six more years to fulfil his dreams.
