Budget deficit cut slips further over the horizon

The Beirut corniche: more twists and turns to come before Lebanon’s budget is sorted out

Hopes that fiscal consolidation would begin paying off for Lebanon in 2004 were dashed by the draft budget approved by the cabinet in late October.

After more than a month of political infighting, the 30-member cabinet led by prime minister Rafiq Hariri approved a budget package that forecasts an increased deficit of 32% on budget expenditures. An earlier forecast was for a 2004 deficit of between 27% and 30.8%,