Dog fight in Lebanon

The fallout from Syria’s uprising is beginning to show in the always fractious politics of neighboring Lebanon, with MPs from the main rival blocks calling each other ‘dog’ in parliament.

The squabble broke out as Future Movement MP Khaled Daher, allied with Saudi Arabia and the West, spoke about the uprising against the Assad dictatorship in Syria.

As Daher was speaking, MP Assem Qanso a member of the Hezbollah-led coalition now governing Lebanon and backed by Syria and Iran, interrupted him with the words, “Who is that dog speaking?”, a grave insult in the Arab Muslim world.

Daher was swift to lash back: “You are the dog,” he said, to which Qanso, an MP from the notoriously fiery Bekaa Valley town of Baalbek launched at Daher, having to be restrained by fellow MPs before the fight got out of hand and Lebanon’s politicians turned their nation’s parliament into a literal, rather than only figurative, playground for bullies.