Four years into crisis: Lebanon's leaders bet on tourism and gas, ignore reforms
Lebanon's political elites are resisting tough reforms demanded by the IMF and implementing a "shadow plan" to avoid the burden of bailing out the financial system, ultimately placing the responsibility on ordinary Lebanese citizens already suffering from poverty, according to economic experts and former officials. The elites fear that implementing the IMF reforms would expose their networks of corruption and patronage and force them to bear the cost of repairing the financial crisis.