ABSTRACT
The failure of the Lebanese factions and Syria to forge a viable political settlement was doubly significant in a year when much attention was devoted to the question of electing a new president in September 1988, when the term of Amin Jumayyil was due to expire. The Lebanese polity was unable to respond to the challenge, which posed a danger to almost all Lebanese, regardless of communal affiliation. The Lebanese Government remained a nominal body during 1987. The ministers did not meet, most of them were not even on speaking terms, and the majority refused to deal with Amin Jumayyil. The Iranians also established a "martyrs'foundation" with branches in most Muslim areas of Lebanon. The political circumstances now made a stalemate in the presidential elections seem likely, and highlighted Amin Jumayyil's position as the legal authority in the country.
