Lebanon's economic situation 'uniquely devastating', Egypt's 'potentially manageable' The economic situations in Lebanon and Egypt are both dire, but for now the ramifications are more manageable in Egypt. That's the view of Timothy Kaldas from the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy. He told FRANCE 24 that while parallels can be drawn between the countries, there is reason for more hope in Egypt, simply because the country is too big to fail. This despite Egyptians facing inflation of 26 percent, with food prices rising by up to 50 percent. Kaldas joined us for Perspective.