Lebanon’s Hariri takes himself out of running as PM candidate

Former Lebanese PM Saad Hariri has declared he won’t be a candidate for premier, two months after resigning the position, but called for negotiations over who will fill the post to continue, despite protests raging in the streets.

While speculation had swirled that Hariri might attempt to return to the role he left in late October, in the midst of large-scale anti-government protests, he announced on Wednesday that his name was attracting too much negative attention and officially withdrew himself from consideration. However, he underlined the importance of going forward with talks to pick a new government, which were postponed on Monday at Hariri’s request, after violent clashes between protesters and security forces, and are now scheduled to begin Thursday.

“I am heading tomorrow to take part in the consultations ... on this basis, insisting that they not be delayed for any reason,” he said. In addition to the protests that have raged for months, Lebanon is also mired in its worst economic crisis since the end of its civil war.