Reuters reports that, “Hezbollah and its allies in Lebanon’s pro-Syria alliance lost a parliamentary election on Sunday pitting them against a U.S.-backed coalition, a senior politician close to them said.” If this is true, the Lebanon’s voters have ensured that the country has dodged a bullet here. A clear March 8 coalition victory and a new government that is internationally perceived as dominated by Hezbollah could result in a major degree of international isolation, which the country can ill afford. Every aspect of its economy from tourism to international banking and financial services depends on other economies and remaining engaged with the world. Politically, both from a domestic and, even more significantly, from an international standpoint, a perceived Hezbollah victory would have been disastrous. The result predicted by the Reuters story is not terribly surprising, but for all those with the interests of Lebanon at heart, if it is confirmed it will come as a considerable relief.