Fixed ideas, rigid attitudes, prejudices, clinging to opinions, imagining friendships and animosities, and looking to the past have prevented the change we need. If the approach we have followed to date had been successful, we would not be in the situation we are in. Repeating the methods of the past is useless. Pragmatism has two sides to it, represented by two common sayings. The first is that “the goal is to eat the grapes, not to kill the vineyard’s guard”. That is, one should not forget one’s ultimate goal, and strive to achieve it by peaceful and avoid tortuous methods or those that have dire consequences. The second is that politics is that “politics are the art of the possible.” This does not mean that a people ought to abandon their noble goals, but that achieving those goals may not be immediate and may require gradual steps to be taken, and that it is better to advance slowly towards the goal than to remain in one’s place, lamenting one’s luck and blaming others for one’s failure. This pragmatism extends to my views regarding all outstanding issues, such as the financial crisis, Hezbollah's weapons, foreign relations, constitutional and legal reforms, and other issues.

Dr. Francis Fukuyama of Stanford University has written that there is a tight relationship between the level of peoples' trust in their governments and the extent of their country’s prosperity. Of course, the trust of the Lebanese in their political class is almost non-existent. So we have to work very hard to get it back - not only to relieve frustration and tension, but also so that we may leave a better country for our children. Lost trust cannot be regained quickly. It needs years. But we must start this journey today before tomorrow, by strict application of laws related to transparency, such as the law on the Right of Access to Information and others, and by stricter penalties, and by allowing transparency associations to monitor the work of official institutions (as I had done when I asked the Lebanese Transparency Association to monitor the work of the High Privatization Council), and through insisting on the independence of the judiciary, among other.

Humane democracy (which goes by several names) is the system of government usually followed in Germany and Scandinavia, based on a combination of the values of individual freedom and the values of social solidarity. This approach is practically translated at the collective level by adopting a free economy and freedom of movement, trade, and work on the one hand, and by building a solid social protection network on the other. This network consists of the state’s responsibility to 1) provide free medical attention and education for all citizens, 2) provide care for the elderly and orphans free of charge, 3) secure the retirement pension for those who have a retirement account, 4) secure decent livelihoods for the needy, 5) promote responsible labor unions, 6) prevent monopoly, and 7) establish controls that prevent unbridled capitalism, such as controlling the activity of companies so that they not only work in the service of their shareholders, but also in the service of their employees and society at large.

Lebanon's productive, economic, intellectual, and cultural capabilities will remain incomplete unless women play the role of full partners with men in our society. Since the development of our society has not given women, until now, the opportunity to achieve full equality, corrective steps must be taken in this regard, starting with our educational curricula, insisting on equal pay with men, and ensuring their participation in leading our country toward its future. Therefore, in forming governments, I will endeavor to have at least a third of the members of the Council of Ministers be women, with half of all members being the goal.

Every idea, project or proposal needs to equally benefit all, not some, nor benefit some disproportionally, because sustainable prosperity is when we all benefit equally.

To me, growth is not just measured by the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures. Rather, it is measured by the improvement of people’s living standards, of quality of public services, and the care and cleanliness of the environment. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which Lebanon agreed to in 2015, must be adopted as the basis for a new socio-economic agenda. There is no room in this paper to discuss the vast dimensions of these goals, but any future economic plan must take into account issues that were often not addressed in previous state plans, such as climate change, environmental development projects, renewable energy, sea life, addressing water network problems, and communicating with international bodies concerned to cover the costs of adaptation to global warming, among other.

Addressing the financial crisis should be a priority. Agreeing with the International Monetary Fund on a plan for recovery is desirable, but not necessary. As Gerard Charvet and I indicated in the plan we proposed in 2020, which contains a practical roadmap for the Government, Parliament, and BdL to save Lebanon from its financial crisis in less than six months. These steps do not require the intervention of the International Monetary Fund or its approval, although any such approval can help accelerate the effects of the plan in the medium and long term. The plan relies on converting Lollars into certificates of deposit that can be traded on the Beirut Stock Exchange. Together with other actions taken simultaneously, this would have the positive impact of having the capital markets be a partial alternative to the banking sector. Explanation of the plan and its advantages is lengthy. I will limit myself here to referring the reader to it via this link: (click here for detailed plan), Restoring confidence in the financial and banking system and protecting deposits, especially the savings of retirees, should be the goal. The role of the financial and banking system in activating the wheel of the economy is irreplaceable. However, we must be aware of which financial and banking system we want. In my opinion, we should not go back to where we were. Unfortunately, most of the current proposals stop at the restructuring of existing banks, while some others refer to the establishment of new banks. This, in my opinion, is not sufficient. We must create diversified capital markets that protect our economy and society from any oligarchic banking system.

The economic plans that the Lebanese State worked on in the past we made to measure for whom they were directed at. Parts of the Paris I, II, and III Plans contained unrealistic ideas and promises to solicit donor approval, part of the McKinsey Plan contained unrealistic ideas to solicit the approval of political parties, and part of the investment program accompanying the CEDRE conference contained unworkable projects requested by politicians for their campaign purposes. It is necessary for the future Government to develop a practical and realistic social and economic plan that adopts the SDGs as a basis for it and aims to raise the standard of living of the poor class in order to re-establish a large middle class. The middle class and its purchasing power are the locomotive of every economy in the world, the pillar of entrepreneurship in the country, and the source of financing for the public treasury. (The resources of the office that monitors compliance with the SDGs need to be enhanced, because without the necessary data, numbers and statistics, there is no way to properly monitor compliance.)

While implementing the decisions that lead to the rebuilding of the middle class, we must not forget the extent of the impact of the financial crisis on the poor class, which has become destitute, and on the middle class, which is experiencing high levels of frustration and emigration. Therefore, we need to establish a social solidarity fund that helps people bear the effects of the crisis and see them through to the economic recovery. In our aforementioned plan, we estimated that it is possible to capitalize this fund with about US$1 billion over ten years. Some may ask how we got such a figure when the country is bankrupt. The details of financing are found in the plan. We believe that the country is not bankrupt. It merely lacks a team of highly qualified finance professionals who can manage the crisis.

Our plan also showed that it is possible and necessary to establish a US$1 billion investment fund for small and medium-sized companies that are active in the areas of the productive economy, which we desperately need and which does not replace the current service economy, but rather integrates with it and strengthens the Lebanese economy as a whole. There is much talk about the productive economy in our political literature, but political slogans and television interviews will not get us there. This goal remains hypothetical unless practical steps, such as the proposed fund, are pushed through to make it happen.

It has been the custom in Lebanon for the State to subsidize the prices of goods and services (such as fuel, electricity, bread, etc.) for everyone. This has made reducing or eliminating subsidies a politically difficult and controversial issue and has made the burden too heavy for the Lebanese State's treasury to bear. Therefore, it is necessary to rationalize this support by gradually eliminating all universal subsidies and targeting them to those in need through the adoption of assistance cards for families suffering from extreme poverty.

There is no justice in society when some pay their full taxes (which is the case for employees, especially in the public sector) while others declare a small part of their income and pay small amounts to the public treasury (as is the case for self-employed professionals and employers). This situation deepens the purchasing power chasm between the haves and have-nots. It contradicts morals and values and causes the treasury to lose billions. To make matters worse, successive Lebanese governments have imposed indirect taxes to replenish the State’s coffers, thus placing an unfair burden on the poor class, which spends the bulk of its income on buying goods and services subject to value-added tax, for example. Therefore, in my opinion, it is necessary to design and implement progressive income taxes and measures that ensure transparency and deter tax evasion. These are essential steps to reconfigure the middle class.

Lebanon has two treasures: its diaspora and its youth, and we should give them a lot of our attention. Of course, expatriates will not stop extending a helping hand to their families. But whoever imagines that the expatriates will do more than that or that they will invest in a homeland they abandoned, if everything remains as it is, is mistaken. Therefore, we must take the first steps towards them, first to restore a kind of trust through the aforementioned reforms, and then by adopting the plan I detailed in my paper for interdependence with the expatriates and enhancing the personal and virtual interaction between them outside Lebanon, seeking what is in their interest ahead of what is in the interest of Lebanon. (The plan is available at the following link: Connecting with the Lebanese Diaspora.

Lebanon’s Youths are another one of our treasures. We must do everything in our power to keep our youths in Lebanon and give them every chance of success in their homeland. Given that information and communication technology (ICT) is the basis of tomorrow's economy, I will suggest to the Government to set up programs and equip centers for making all ICT curricula, including Web3 and metaverse, available in all schools and universities free of charge. This initiative will be the most important investment possible in the future of our youths and our country.

I have lead and participated in restructuring and saving this and other nations debt, we can do it again.

Ensure no monopoly, enable innovation and positive competition to the benefit of every Lebanese.

Now is our golden chance, and we have a plan. Lebanon must restore this intermediary role that unites the West and the East and all the countries of the region.

Specifically with the GCC, and adopt win-win strategies.

We will recommend a plan to provide our youth with accessible free education in technology.

“Together we stand, divided we fall” - there is no differentiation between one Lebanese and another.