Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Gulf News

The 13 candidates are at pains to woo voters by concentrating on a wide range of domestic problems ahead of next week’s landmark polls

Cairo Out of the 24 questions asked in a historic TV debate this week between two front-runners in Egypt’s presidential elections, only one question was related to foreign policy.

Amr Mousa, former foreign minister, and his Islamist rival Abdul Moneim Abu Al Fotouh were asked to give their views on Israel and Iran.

Mousa, who is also former chief of the Arab League, said he planned to reconsider relations with Israel but said the peace treaty — signed by the late Egyptian president Anwar Al Sadat with Israel in 1979 — would continue to be effective.

On Iran, Mousa said: “For sure, I am against going to war against Iran.”

Abu Al Fotouh, a former senior official in the powerful Muslim Brotherhood, said Israel was a “strategic enemy”. He, however, expressed conditional commitment to the peace treaty and said: “The [Egyptian] parliament has to [re-evaluate] this treaty every five years.”

Abu Al Fotouh said Egypt was not afraid of Iran and would not allow the Islamic republic to spread Shiitism in largely Sunni Egypt.

Egypt will hold its first presidential elections since Hosni Mubarak’s exit next Wednesday and Thursday. A likely run-off is scheduled for June 16.

The 13 candidates are at pains to woo voters by concentrating on a wide range of domestic problems, observers have said.

Even on foreign policy, the candidates show little difference, they add.

“The Mubarak regime has left behind a mountain of internal problems including declining health care, education and high rates of poverty and unemployment,” said Salah Al Hadi, a political expert.

“Therefore, apart from tightening control of the apparently porous borders, the contenders focus their attention on addressing the woes at home,” he added.

However, Ahmad Shafiq, Mubarak’s last premier, was the only one among the 13 contenders to announce his readiness to visit Israel — a usually controversial issue in Egypt.

“I can go to Israel without fear if this will serve the Egyptian-Palestinian interests,” said Shafiq, an ex-army general.

“If made, the visit will be part of an effort to develop the peace treaty with Israel and to serve the Palestinian cause. Relations with Israel are like those between any other two neighbours and are based on each’s respect for the other’s sovereignty.”

When going beyond the relations with Israel, all the presidential hopefuls converge on the necessity of creating “balanced” links with the United States, and paying more attention to cooperation with the rest of Africa. “To ensure full security for Egypt, we have to pay due attention to the neighbouring countries and the dangers besetting them,” said independent presidential aspirant Hamdeen Sabah, whose popularity ratings have soared in recent opinion polls. “We should not forget that Egypt’s security is closely connected with the security of the Arab region and Africa.”

“I’ll also be keen to forge strategic relations with Iran and Turkey based on preserving the common interests of the three countries,” Sabah said recently.

Iran severed ties with Egypt in 1979 in protest against the latter’s peace treaty with Israel. Relations were mostly strained under the Mubarak regime, which accused Iran of meddling in Arab affairs. A thaw in the Egyptian-Iranian ties was seen following the revolt that toppled Mubarak in February last year.

Mokhtar Shu’eeb, a writer in the semi-official newspaper Al Ahram, said: “All contenders agree that threats to the national security come from Israel, the US monopoly of managing the world affairs, the dispute over Nile water-sharing, regional hot spots and the flow of weapons and drugs into Egypt as well as the spread of thuggery and corruption in the country.”

By Ramadan Al Sherbini?Correspondent

Gulf News 2012. All rights reserved.