The cabinet of Dr. Salim Hoss is limping through its nineteenth month in office. Yet the good doctor insists, in all his public statements, that the responsibility for the worsening conditions in the nation belongs with someone else, namely: Mr. Rafik Hariri. Dr. Hoss and members of his cabinet assumed office in 1998. This is the year 2000. Their denial of responsibility cannot stand.

There is no question that every word spoken by Dr. Hoss or his associates about the heavy legacy of the Hrawi-Hariri era is true, with the exception of the occasional cheap shots such as the recent Tele Liban attacks. But it is undeniable that since the installation of the present cabinet, under the new Lahoud regime, there have been no new policies or decisions of the caliber required to deal with the national problems. Dr. Hoss likes to boast that he carries the 'weapon of the position', but the people are unaware of a single position he took to deal with the cause of their concerns.

True, Lahoud, Hoss and many of their associates are clean in the sense that they have not dipped their hands in the public money or brokered any shady deals. But this is clearly not enough.

The worst thing that is happening as a result of the miserable performance of Hoss and company is a kind of rehabilitation of Hariri and company in the eyes of some ill advised Lebanese! This is regrettable. For Hariri is working hard at buying back the office of prime minister, and the Hoss misfortune gives him a big boost.

Of course, everyone aware of the facts of life in Lebanon knows that the nation's prime minister receives his appointment from Damascus. The same applies to ministers and all high ranking officials including prosecutors and judges. Still, a certain level of local Lebanese support for the Syrian appointee is considered desirable by the Syrian handlers!

Hence the widespread dissatisfaction with both Hoss and Hariri cannot be discounted. But at this time the prime minister is Salim Hoss and not Rafik Hariri. The ministers, with the exception of Michel Murr and Muhammad Yousuf Beydoun who are carryovers from Hariri, are all relatively fresh faces who were supposed to perform much better than they did. The Hoss cabinet failed in a big way. Hoss and company are the only persons responsible and they should be held accountable for this failure in every political, legal and constitutional way.