Prime Minister Nawaf Salam (center) asked Finance Minister Yassin Jaber to respond to MPs' comments before the vote on the 2026 budget, in Parliament on Jan. 29, 2026. (Credit: Parliament's Flickr account)
Parliament approved the 2026 budget, just two days before the deadline, despite the tense atmosphere in and around the chamber, with numerous civil servants — mainly retired military demanding an increase in their wages, salaries, and end-of-service benefits. The vote passed with a majority of 59 votes in favor, 34 against, and 11 abstentions, according to the state-run National News Agency (NNA)."It wasn't ideal, not even the minimum, but at least we've ensured the continuity of the state and its institutions, because the alternative would have been chaos — financial, social, military, and health-wise," Finance Committee Chair Ibrahim Kanaan, formerly affiliated with the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), told L’Orient-Le Jour after the session.The issue of public sector pay, which has yet to be revised to compensate for...
Parliament approved the 2026 budget, just two days before the deadline, despite the tense atmosphere in and around the chamber, with numerous civil servants — mainly retired military demanding an increase in their wages, salaries, and end-of-service benefits. The vote passed with a majority of 59 votes in favor, 34 against, and 11 abstentions, according to the state-run National News Agency (NNA)."It wasn't ideal, not even the minimum, but at least we've ensured the continuity of the state and its institutions, because the alternative would have been chaos — financial, social, military, and health-wise," Finance Committee Chair Ibrahim Kanaan, formerly affiliated with the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), told L’Orient-Le Jour after the session.The issue of public sector pay, which has yet to be revised to compensate...
