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After 18 months of dispute over the government of Lebanon, it was finally agreed in Qatar last week that the new president should be the person who many had proposed all along, namely General Michel Sulaiman. Hopes for peace and unity emerged from the Doha meeting, with the likely realisation that maybe, in time, the country would develop and prosper to the glories of the past.
However, the news that Fouad Siniora has been reinstated as prime minister and asked to form a new government was met with considerable dismay among the opposition parties. There is an undercurrent among the politicians who believe that Siniora does not represent the spirit of unity that was so prevalent in Doha, and with his renowned pro-western stance, his appointment could be the precursor to more division at a later date.
It is a shame that Siniora is being looked upon in such a negative manner. More than anyone, he knows the importance of bringing all sides together and establishing a base of national unity. There is much to be done in the country, not least reassuring the people and Lebanon's neighbours that the controversies of the past are all behind them. Yet it does not look auspicious for Lebanon.
Sadly, the mistrust that persists between the leaders of the various factions in Lebanon is considered by many to go too deep to expect overnight cures. The Lebanese civil war which started in 1975 and continued for 15 years still rankles among many of the politicians who survived those days of turmoil and suspicion. Nor did it help that Lebanon's neighbours decided to intervene and impose their requirements upon the outcome.
What politicians must now do is give the Siniora government a chance to prove itself. Without their co-operation the chances of success are very slim indeed.
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