The Lebanese Hezbollah and its Amal Movement ally are predominantly responsible for the latest failure to establish a new government in Beirut. Putting their cronyism first, the two parties have shown their hands.

The failure was formalized after Prime Minister Hassan Diab resigned this weekend. Diab concluded he would be unable to persuade Hezbollah to support his reformist efforts. This provoked President Emmanuel Macron of France to condemn the acquiescence of responsibility. “I’m ashamed of the Lebanese political leaders” and their “collective betrayal” of the people, Macron said. The French president, who has been attempting to mediate a reform process, is right to be furious. Lebanon has been caught in a state of chaos for more than a year now, with various partisan interests preferring their own retention of power to the better service of the people. But with an anemic economy and grotesque political corruption, Lebanon is in desperate need of major political reform. This concern was only exacerbated following the catastrophic Beirut port explosion in early August, which killed nearly 200 people.