Tuesday, May 07, 2013
Cairo: The cabinet reshuffle unveiled on Tuesday will most likely prolong Egypt’s political dispute, according to politicians and analysts.
The reshuffle, which saw nine ministers replaced in the 36-strong cabinet, has ignored the opposition’s demand for sacking Prime Minister Hesham Qandil, widely criticised for failing to revitalise the flagging economy. Two more officials from the ruling Muslim Brotherhood have been picked to head the ministries of investment and planning, bringing to seven the total number of Brotherhood officials in the government.
“The main reason that President Mohammad Mursi has kept Qandil in his post despite political powers’ call for changing him is that Qandil has succeeded in carrying out the Muslim Brotherhood’s plan to Brotherise the state institutions,” said Amr Hashem, an expert at the state-run Al Ahram Centre for Political Studies.
The secular-minded opposition accuses the Brotherhood, to which Mursi belongs, of seeking to tighten its grip on power.
The opposition, led by the National Salvation Front, has repeatedly demanded the institution of a broad-based “neutral” government to set the stage for crucial parliamentary elections expected later this year.
“Despite his economic and political failures, Qandil is retained by the Brotherhood to promote their agenda,” Hashem said.
Qandil, a low-key technocrat, had served as irrigation minister for months in a government formed following a revolt that toppled former president Hosni Mubarak more than two years ago. Qandil is seen as a Brotherhood sympathiser despite his insistence of being independent.
Egypt has been for months in the grip of a deep political crisis between the opposition and Mursi. An economic decline, coupled with an unsustainable budget deficit, has added to the country’s woes.
“Creating an independent government composed of efficient ministers and naming a new public prosecutor are logical public demands to solve the crisis,” tweeted Mohammad Al Baradei, a prominent reform campaigner.
In November, Mursi, Egypt’s first democratically President, infuriated the opposition by appointing Talaat Abdullah as chief prosecutor, a move widely criticised as infringing on the judiciary’s independence. The opposition accuses Abdullah of being biased towards the Brotherhood.
The opposition has called for replacing Abdullah and instituting a caretaker independent government as preconditions to actively participate in a new parliament.
Amr Mousa, an opposition leader, described the shake-up as a new step “towards Brotherisation” of the state. “Challenges are big and the government with its new form will be unable to grapple with the situation,” Mousa said in a statement. “There will be a need for a new change in the short term.”
The Brotherhood argues that a complete revamp of the government would send a sign of instability as Egypt is negotiating a $4.8-billion (Dh17.62 billion) loan from the International Monetary Fund needed to shore up the country’s finances and regain investors’ confidence. Welcoming the revamped cabinet, Sa’ad Al Katatni, the head of the Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party, urged different political forces to help the “new cabinet in grappling with the challenges.”
But Mursi’s Islamist allies appeared displeased. “The limited cabinet reshuffle will not solve the current crisis in the country,” said the major ultra-conservative Salafist Al Nur Party, an ally of the Brotherhood. “There should be a new government with a clear vision to manage the state’s affairs.”
Salafists are particularly disappointed with the latest cabinet reshuffle because it retains Hesham Zazou as tourism minister.
Zazou staunchly supports allowing Iranians to spend holidays in Egypt in an attempt to rejuvenate the country’s tourism sector, which has been hit hard by the turmoil that followed Mubarak’s toppling.
Salafists are concerned that Iran will take advantage of the unhindered access to promote Shiite beliefs in predominantly Sunni Egypt.
By Ramadan Al Sherbini Correspondent
Gulf News 2013. All rights reserved.
