Ayoon Wa Azan (A Coup Against Democracy)

Today, the winner in the Egyptian presidential race will be announced. In the first round, the Egyptians were denied the chance to choose candidates who have the ability to steer Egypt to safety amid the current stormy climate. The Egyptians then failed to choose the best candidate between Mohamed Morsi and Ahmed Shafik in the run-off. Khairat Shater was more qualified to rule, and had a broader knowledge of Egypt’s internal affairs and foreign relations than the head of the Freedom and Justice Party; Shater was disqualified, however. But the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) could have nominated Essam el-Erian, the Vice President of the group, who is just as qualified as Shater and is above board. However, they chose Mohamed Morsi in the end, a man who lacks all the experience and qualifications required to lead the country, and the MB seems to have put partisan loyalty above national loyalty. Because of this, I fear that the whole country may pay a steep price; so may we. I am not a big fan of the rule of the military in any country, particularly ourArab countries. However, I fear that the Generals might ultimately prove to be the safety valve of Egypt’s future, by foreclosing a theocracy or one party rule, along the lines of what was seen with the former communist party rule in Eastern Europe, or preempt a president who has sworn loyalty to the supreme leader of the MB and not the homeland. I do not need to go into details. In brief, the recent decisions by the ruling military council and the Supreme Constitutional Court are a coup against democracy, before its outcome comes into effect - or against the Second Republic even before it is established. The demonstrations, which are mostly ‘million-strong’ only in name, cannot change anything. The new president will thus find himself with reduced powers, and the elections for a new parliament will be held in a completely different climate than the one seen in November 2011, when the MB snatched almost half of the seats in parliament. Things would not have deteriorated to a confrontation in the street, if the MB candidate had been Shater or Erian instead, or if the Egyptians had been given the chance to choose one of these two men or a candidate like Ahmed Shafik, Hamdeen Sabahi, Amr Moussa or Mohamed ElBaradei; or even Ms. Faiza Abu Naga, who had no electoral ‘machine’, although the election of a woman in Egypt would have meant clearing the way for real freedom and equality for women in every Arab country. I write this while being aware that there is no point in crying over spilled milk. In truth, I find nothing in the tense and charged Egyptian political climate today except more cause for concern. While the military in Egypt is not the largest party, it is the strongest party. And throughout 80 years of political work, the Muslim Brothers have proven that their lust for power is stronger than their ability to think properly. For this reason, they lost their battle with three presidents in the First Republic, and with the monarchy before that. The last thing Egypt needs today is a confrontation between the military and the civilians. Indeed, security is the top priority, because it is a major prerequisite for tackling the sharp economic crisis. For one thing, the revolution in Egypt squandered the achievements of Ahmed Nazif’s government seen in the first decade of this century, instead of protecting them and focusing on corruption which had prevented these achievements from trickling down to the people, while their benefits were restricted to the one percent comprising the corrupt politicians. I had heard from some leaders of the MB during my last two visits to Cairo that they have a comprehensive economic program, and they believe that they need three or four years for the economy to stabilize, followed by a period of sustained economic growth. But I don’t think the Egyptians can wait for three or four years before they can see the national economy improve. Their needs are of an urgent and immediate nature, and food security is the first requirement for a decent living, in addition to providing jobs for qualified job seekers, including hundreds of thousands of university graduates; this is better than living on bribes in the form of rice, sugar and oil from the MB. Today, Syria is facing the specter of civil war. Libya is a hodgepodge of weapons and separatist movements, Iraq is an Iranian colony and Yemen is in danger because of al-Qaeda’s presence and water scarcity (what little water available is being wasted on growing crops of the stimulant Qat). Hosni Mubarak had voluntarily relinquished Arab leadership, as he believed that ‘Arabs are useless’. Then the revolution came to squander the remainder of Egypt’s pan-Arab standing and her right to lead and be at the vanguard. Now, the Americans have the gall to dictate to us every day what they want us and don’t want us to do, and act on behalf of Israel in our countries, while we accuse one another, and the whole world, but refuse to admit that we are our own worst enemies – worse than any other foreign enemy. --- The views expressed by the author do not necessarily represent or reflect the editorial policy of Arabstoday.