Decisive Security
"Of course I will vote for Shafiq because he is the one who can bring order back to the country and rid us of thugs and [religious] extremists".
He speaks, a typical Egyptian voter disinterested in bringing greater power to the Muslim Brotherhood, of Ahmed Shafiq, the prime minister appointed by an anxious, desperate Hosni Mubarak, just before he was brought down by protesting crowds hungry for his abdication and future death sentence as one who betrayed Egypt, rather than be seen as he saw himself, the avuncular dictator of his beloved country.
Ahmed Shafiq, general, former civil aviation minister, was President Mubarak's first choice for figurehead prime minister in a desperate ploy for time and appeasement of the ravening mobs. He is decidedly not favoured by those who brought down Mr. Mubarak by their ferocious and rancorous rants against the previous administration of three decades-long rule.
Gambling on the theory that ordinary Egyptians - exclusive of those who had vehemently campaigned for the end of President Mubarak's rule are fed up with political infighting, and the economic hardships that followed on their Arab Spring contretemps - would be anxious to see chaos and insecurity all come to an end and trust him to be the one to do it, Mr. Shafiq presented himself as the leading candidate.
"Security must be restored and it should be done decisively", the grim-faced and -mannered man insisted. "the state alone can restore stability by using an iron fist."
And his, he promises, will be the iron fist to accomplish just that. Recent opinion polls highlight his visibility as the leading candidate for next week's election. His prominence as the leading candidate stands ahead of the former Arab League chief, Amr Mussa. In all, a dozen candidates are vying for the presidential election.
Held to mark the end of the military-led period of transition that followed President Mubarak's departure. None of the candidates, claims the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, are backed by them. Of course, were they to ostentatiously claim that Mr. Shafiq is one of them, and to him they throw their trust, would represent the end of his voter appeal.
As it is, those who distrust him claim his military background, allegations of fraud, and position with the former regime have stained him irreparably. His election would, in effect, represent a continuation of that regime, sans Mubarak. His many supporters claim that he and he alone is capable of bringing stability back to Egypt.
"I worked with the Mubarak regime. I worked with the [Anwar] Sadat regime and I worked with the regime of Gamal Abdel Nasser", he recently responded, to criticism that he was a Mubarak insider. "Which regime are you going to associate me with", he goaded his accusers, fearlessly.
Labels: Chaos, Egypt, Political Realities Middle East
posted by Pieface @ Tuesday, May 22, 2012
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