Mubarak's Interview Carries no Surprises

Several days before the airing of the announced six- hour Mubarak interview on Egyptian TV, the media speculated that the President would announce a big surprise. Both political analysts and observers predicted that the President's surprise might involve a declaration that he would retire from political life or possibly announce the appointment of a vice- president. A large sector of the population waited eagerly to watch the President's interview and listen to the surprise promoted by the media. However, the loudly trumpeted interview came empty of all substance relevant to immediate concerns of Egyptians. The entire interview was in the nature of a publicity campaign to burnish the image of the president in the eyes of the public, by commending his personal traits and his leadership skills. Almost the whole six-hour interview was dedicated to the narration of the President's role in Egypt's military and political life- a story that has been told and retold endless times in the state- controlled media.

The interview came, however with a disappointing surprise that led to widespread popular disappointment when the president accentuated the regime's intention to extend the long-standing Emergency Law which has been paralyzing Egyptian political life for 23 years. In this regard, the President maintained that it was inappropriate to abrogate the Emergency Law while most world states in order to combat terrorism were starting to apply it.

The President also refused to allow party status to the banned Muslim Brotherhood Organization on the grounds that religious parties are prohibited by law. Instead he suggested that the members of the MB could run under the umbrella of other legal secular political parties. He erroneously claimed that there was no single state around the world that had a political party which is religiously based. The President clearly missed the fact that there are a number of religious political parties that exist in Europe, Latin America, Turkey and Israel.

Moreover, at a time when most states are moving towards multi-party systems, the President believed that the existence of a majority party safeguarded Egypt from the fragility and instability associated with coalition governments.

The President's interview was very disappointing to the public which had been longing for a solution to the long-standing political and economic injustices that plague Egyptian life. The interview was simply an orchestrated show intended to present an image of a wise and energetic president eminently suitable to lead the country .Despite, the president's statement that he has not yet decided whether to run or not in the upcoming September presidential elections, it was implicitly understood that he will seek another term which would mean that he has remained in office thirty years.