Pro-Syrian businessman Najib Mikati was appointed prime minister after the resignation (how many is that?) of Omar Karami. At Spirit of America, Mike Totten has a short but pointed interview with student opposition leader Nabil Abou-Charraf. Charraf contends that the latest Karami resignation is a ploy by the government to scuttle the upcoming elections. He says that to the opposition the elections are everything, the government, nothing.

For his part, Mikati is being described as a moderate. But he is a moderate only in comparison to his rival Abdel-Rahim Mrab.

He said: “We must take advantage of this unity and of the opposition’s brave decision to participate in the consultations.”

He also announced that parliamentary consultations to form a Cabinet would start this afternoon. But opposition MP Mosbah Ahdab said the opposition will not be part of the Cabinet.

The anti-Syrian opposition opted for Mikati, disregarding the fact that he is a close Syrian ally, in an attempt to weaken Mrad, who is staunchly pro-Syrian and viewed as a “provocative” candidate.

Mikati, a former public works and transport minister has also pledged to hold the elections on time, a major demand of the opposition and the international community. The opposition has also said Mikati promised not to run for elections, and to dismiss pro-Syrian security chiefs, which it accused of having facilitated Hariri’s murder.

Only three opposition MPs: Butros Harb, Nayla Mouawad and Mosbah Ahdab refrained from giving a name.

Harb and Mouawad are both close personal friends of Karami, a traditional rival of Mikati, while Ahdab is known to be at odds with Mikati.

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Hizbullah’s 12-MP parliamentary bloc and Deputy Speaker Michel Murr’s bloc of four, said they chose a name, but refrained from divulging it. “We left the name with President Lahoud,” said Hizbullah MP Mohammed Raad.

But it is also understood Hizbullah named Mrad because he pledged to revoke the current electoral draft law and submit a new one, less favorable to the opposition, combining large constituencies with a proportional system.

Mikati is said to have been in contact with Walid Jumblatt and the family of Rafik Hariri leading up to his appointment. Syria had backed Mrab and is smarting from the defeat. But Assad’s government isn’t giving up so easily.

But Syrian President Bashar Assad declared in his March speech that the military pullout would not bring an end to Syria’s long-standing role in Lebanon, which is based on historic and geographic relations.

Damascus’ rigid policy has so far remained in place and was evident in its support of the naming of outgoing Lebanese Defense Minister Abdel-Rahim Mrad as Lebanon’s new prime minister. Syrian officials contacted their Lebanese allies, asking them to name him in parliamentary consultations.

According to some of Damascus’ closest allies, the fact that Syria chose Mrad instead of Tripoli MP Najib Mikati, another close ally, is due to Mikati’s willingness to abide by some of the opposition’s demands.

Those allies said Damascus was not embarrassed by its preference for Mrad but rather it chose the outgoing defense minister because its policy is to opt for confrontation when under pressure. Damascus does not want to fulfill the opposition’s demands under pressure, especially those related to the dismissal of security chiefs, who Mikati has said he will give an administrative vacation if he succeeds in forming the new Cabinet.

Mrab was a virulent opponent to Hariri and can hardly have expected the opposition to accept him. Hariri may have become more “powerful” in death than in life and his family exerts considerable influence in Lebanese politics. Mikati has promised to form a government quickly and hold to the date for the May elections. It will be telling how he handles the next 15 days. That’s how long he has to call for elections. The opposition is well organized and the people are ready, willing and able to keep the government to it promises.