Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati arrives in Spain at a particularly sensitive moment for the Middle East. The ceasefire brokered between Israel and the Shiite militia Hezbollah in his country was followed just days later by the fall of Bashar al-Assad in Syria. As the regional puzzle pieces are being reshuffled to create a new, still-elusive order, the situation in Lebanon remains extremely complicated. Mikati, 69, has been labeled an interim leader for more than two years, governing alone due to the parties’ failure to agree on a president. This institutional vacuum, combined with Israel’s ongoing war with Hezbollah, has exacerbated an economic crisis that, by 2022, had already pushed 80% of the population into poverty.
