There are no problems without solutions, but there are problems that are incorrectly raised. The most dangerous thing about the debate raging around the wage hike for public sector employees in Lebanon is that it gives the impression that it is a conflict between workers and employers, but it is not.

Not only does portraying the problem in such a way blur facts but it also blocks prospects of finding solutions. If there ought to be a dispute, then it is the partners in production who should be the parties to this confrontation, i.e., workers and employers on the one hand, and those hindering development on the other, namely those who drove the country to this state of paralysis and stagnation. The latter include those who have been in charge since 2011, in particular Hezbollah, and the political elites in general.

The exchange of threats, strikes and counterstrikes that we have been witnessing over the last few days made it look like there was a showdown between the economic authorities — banks in particular — on the one hand, and trade unions on the other.

As long as polarization lingers, then the crisis will worsen. As long as the diagnosis is incorrect, then there will be no hope of finding a successful treatment. The problem of financing the wage hike currently lies in the absence of growth, reform and even governance.