As Egyptians swelter in long queues to have their say in their nation’s future, kudos should go to both presidential candidates for having the courage to take on a country of 90 million beset by serious social, economic and security problems. Whoever gets to the Palace faces an uphill struggle, especially when a tired and disillusioned population is long on hope but short on patience.
Both presidential hopefuls know the score, but have very different approaches. Leftist politician Hamdeen Sabahi’s 130-page manifesto is comprehensive when it comes to goals but vague on implementation. His campaign speeches target the idealistic youth that make-up 40 percent of those eligible to cast their ballots. His detractors assert that he’s also playing to Muslim Brotherhood sympathizers. Sabahi has accused his opponents of launching a smear campaign against him and has reaffirmed his anti-Brotherhood sentiments. Sabahi promises instant change as though he has a magic wand up his sleeve, perhaps because he knows deep down that he ultimately won’t be called upon to wave it.
The demeanor of Abdel-Fatah El-Sissi may be one of quiet composure, but during televised round table sessions with the media, a steely core is glimpsed. He put one show host firmly in his place for using a word he considered to be disrespectful to the army. “Never use that word,” he snapped. On a number of his policies he’s refused to be drawn and he’s avoided making unrealistic pledges. “Egyptians no longer believe in fake promises,” he told Sky News. “They need to see achievements for real.” Rather, he’s appealed to Egyptians “who love their country” to roll up their sleeves and work with him.
Speaking to a youthful audience, he asked, “Before you have breakfast, did you ask yourself ‘what have I done for Egypt’?” He says he needs at least two years to turn the economy around and has gone to great pains to outline the challenges, stressing there’s no money in the coffers to increase wages, citing a 7.1 percent budget deficit and a national debt exceeding $240 billion.
Energy and food subsidies are eating away at the country’s prosperity. Economists insist they must be cut, but El-Sissi knows that now is not an opportune time. That said he has expressed the view that subsidies should only benefit those in need rather than, say, a man with four cars in his garage. In the meantime, he is pressing manufacturers and retailers to keep prices low, asking households to conserve electricity and water — and is leaning on the business community to fund schemes to alleviate poverty.
When it comes to the Muslim Brotherhood he remains scathing; he’s been quoted as saying, “If I win the elections, the Brotherhood will no longer exist.” “They presented themselves to the Egyptians over the past year in a way that made Egyptians incapable of living with them again,” he explained to Sky News.
“I used to tell them you will turn the political dispute into a religious dispute and turn it into a religious war between your supporters and the people and this is unacceptable. Frankly, this is falsifying speech and facts and it doesn’t satisfy God to walk like that — and we cannot walk like that.”
Some commentators have twisted El-Sissi’s stance toward the Brotherhood as something undermining his own credentials as a good Muslim, more particularly those on networks under the sway of governments with which Egypt currently has frosty diplomatic relations. That is nothing short of propagandist disinformation.
The former army chief is devout and has been since childhood when he enjoyed worshipping in the mosque, studying in Al-Azhar University library and helping out at his family’s shops in Khan El Khalili souk. Accounts from family members, friends and neighbors concur that his family was religiously conservative and, unlike his peers, he was more often than not seen with a book in his hand than playing soccer in the street or visiting the cinema. He respected his father, a disciplinarian, to the extent that when he was taken to task for dressing inappropriately as a youth, he shaved his head. People who know him well say he’s well mannered, humble and honest; they admire his intelligence, his hunger for knowledge and his grasp of geopolitical complexities.
In a 17-page thesis he wrote in 2006 while enrolled at a Pennsylvania US Army college, he expressed his view that religion is integral to the region’s political landscape. In order for democracy to be successful in the Middle East, it must demonstrate respect to the religious nature of the culture. His love for God first and Egypt second is beyond dispute. “The hand that harms any Egyptian must be cut,” he’s fond of saying, describing the people as “the light of my eyes”. His sincerity, emotion and good intentions shine through those eyes.
