In a surprising move, Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab handed copies of his CV to Qatari officials during his latest visit to Qatar, Al-Akhbar reported on Wednesday.
Diab‘s visit to Qatar aimed at requesting aid for Lebanon, particularly funding for the ration card the Lebanese government is considering in order to support around 750,000 families when subsidies are lifted.
As such, Diab reportedly caught the officials he met off guard when he gave them his CV in an attempt to secure a job after he is done with his task in the caretaker government, i.e. when a new government is formed, as per the newspaper.
Hassan Diab confused some of the officials in the meetings he had in Qatar and drew varying reactions from people back in Lebanon.
While some Lebanese social media users saw no fault in the caretaker PM’s reported pursuit of a future job, others criticized him for using his official visit to achieve a personal goal.
“It’s his right,” several people tweeted, supporting Diab‘s move.
“Oftentimes, a Lebanese official visits a Gulf country and wants to get money for himself,” MP Jamil Al-Sayyed tweeted.
He continued, “Diab wants a job with his personal qualifications, where’s the shame? This is an indication that Diab did not benefit from the state corruption like most of his predecessors.”
“… The error is in the timing and not in the request because he can obtain this rightful request after the job is completed, whereas the corrupt who requests the money can no longer collect his request after the end of the job,” politician Myrna Zakharia wrote in response to Al-Sayyed’s remarks.
Another person with a similar view commented: “The shame is that he’s doing it in an official visit as a prime minister who is requesting aid for Lebanon.”
Since he resigned after the Beirut explosion in August 2020, Hassan Diab has remained the caretaker PM of Lebanon, pending the formation of a new cabinet by PM-designate Saad Hariri.
In recent remarks, Diab stated that corruption in Lebanon is “stronger than the state.”
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