Lebanon's economic crisis is rippling across the border into Syria
past two months everyone in Lebanon has become an economist. Walk down the street and you will probably hear snippets of conversation about dollars and exchange rates—and vitriol aimed at bankers. The country is in the third month of a political and economic crisis caused by a drop in remittances and bank deposits that has left everyone short of hard currency. Customers queue in banks for hours only to face arbitrary limits on dollar withdrawals.
The Syrian government is trying to reduce imports, but the country’s shattered factories cannot provide basic goods. Many firms rely on raw materials from abroad, bought with dollars, then sell their finished goods on an impoverished domestic market. In some industries prices are fixed by the government: drug firms, for example, find it all but impossible to break even. Last month Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s dictator, decreed a pay rise of 20,000 pounds for civil servants.
Mr Assad has shrugged off concerns about the economy. “Syrians have a lot of money,” he says. Meanwhile, Lebanon’s leaders are fighting over berths on a sinking ship. The prime minister, Saad Hariri, resigned on October 29th after weeks of protests. In November politicians seemed to agree on Samir Khatib, a businessman, as his replacement. But on December 8th Mr Khatib abruptly withdrew from consideration. Talks about a new cabinet were again postponed.
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