Competing political interests mean a 33rd attempt to elect Lebanese President has failed

The Lebanese parliament failed for the 33rd time Wednesday to elect a president, despite cautious expectations that a consensus had formed around politician Suleiman Frangieh, a childhood friend of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. Lebanon has been without a president since May 2014, when the mandate of Michel Sleiman expired, because the country’s Christians, Sunni and Shiite…