Lebanese President Michel Aoun said Dec. 19 that he had asked former Education Minister Hassan Diab to form Lebanon's next government. Diab, a Sunni, won backing for his nomination from the March 8 alliance, which is dominated by Shiite militant group and political party Hezbollah and its parliamentary allies. By constitutional custom, Lebanon's prime ministerial role must be filled by a Sunni. However, Diab's nomination earned the support of only a handful of Sunni lawmakers.
Diab is not expected to be warmly received by the Lebanese protest movement, which has pushed for a change in the way the country is governed. This means the country's political crisis is unlikely to be resolved....
