Social media hits Lebanon’s political scene: Hariri and Mikati dig in

The phenomenon of politicians across the world communicating with the public through social media platforms has finally spread onto the Lebanese political scene.   

Former PM Saad Hariri, who is currently in Riyadh, has been communicating with a number of users through his Twitter page, touching on several controversial issues, ranging from Hezbollah’s arms to the latest events in Syria.     In response to a question, Hariri confirmed that, if his party wins the next elections he would no longer vote for Nabih Berri to head the Parliament.             

Hariri regarded the abduction of Syrian opposition figures in Lebanon as “the stupidest thing any individual or political party can do”, adding “their actions will not go unpunished and we will hold them accountable.”             

Speaker Nabih Berri gave his response to a reporter the following day, saying, “During the Twitter session, Hariri revealed to his followers that these days he is busy with his hobbies which include diving. The Lebanese discovered another one of the Sheik’s hobbies: politics. I wish he dived into the first without the second.”      

Not letting Berri get the last word, Hariri took one last stab through a tweet on Monday evening. When asked by a follower what he would teach if he could teach anything Hariri responded, "scuba diving, in spite of Mr Berri."     

Lebanese PM Najib Mikati has also been active on Twitter in the last few days; he mentioned his current visit to the U.K. and his readiness to meet with his counterpart. Mikati stressed the necessity to establish digital diplomacy alongside public diplomacy.