I find the draft government rescue plan remarkable as the opening act in what will be a long saga. Kudos to our top civil servants and Lazard for putting all the key issues on the table with courage. 1/4

The plan is honest: Total losses are put at $82 billion. There is no escape: the bill needs to be mostly paid by Lebanese citizens in taxes, reduced wages, pensions, services, and haircuts. If we don& #39;t, the bill only grows larger. This is the largest debacle in history. 2/4

If you think that the plan is unrealistic given our politics, then can we afford to keep the same political elite in power? To start with: $63 billion of the losses come from BdL. Can anyone even consider keeping the same management team to restructure the banking system? 3/4

The plan& #39;s sequencing/figures are indicative & will be harshly negotiated by all: but the real constraints, tools & endpoint are here for all citizens to see. We need all the external help, esp. IMF. This is no longer M. Ghanem speculating w/ late night experts but real stuff!4/4