14 January 2011
SIDON: The fall of the Cabinet has given a new push to political jokes in the city from which the family of Prime Minister Saad Hariri hails, amid a lack of enthusiasm for the paraphernalia associated with politicians.
Among the most recent crop of cynical comments about political events in the country is that Fares Soueid, the former M.P. from Jbeil and a pillar of the March 14 coalition, will be “seeking political asylum in Syria.”
According to the latest joke, anyone who is entertaining ideas of becoming a minister in the next government will have to take a test at the Iranian Embassy, or undergo a physical examination in order to gauge his or her fitness and stamina to engage in the expected political “confrontations” to come.
Sidonians are also sarcastically predicting that a “Doha 2” meeting will be held in Marjeh Square in Damascus, where the next 30-member Cabinet will be formally announced: The new government will have 10 ministers from the March 14 camp, 10 from March 8, and 10 ministers “for the Syrians.”
Meanwhile, in Sidon’s Old City, storeowner Ali Siblini said that over the last four months, the public’s interest in purchasing trinkets bearing the likenesses of leading politicians has dropped off noticeably.
“This is despite the fact that there was a political crisis in the country,” Siblini said. He acknowledged that he mistakenly expected that the fall of the Cabinet would re-spark demand. “People are bored with politicians,” he said.
Deeb Khalifeh, a street vendor in the old souqs of Sidon, offers a full array of politicians’ faces plastered on faux jewelry accessories: everyone from Saad Hariri and Nabih Berri to Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Michel Aoun.
But Khalifeh was similarly downbeat about the drop in demand, as he pointed to the non-political jewelry. “It’s better for a woman to adorn herself with jewelry, and stay away from politics and the teasing of political leaders.”
Copyright The Daily Star 2011.
