You were a strong supporter of Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi's presidential bid. Why was this, and do you think that he has delivered? I supported Al-Sisi in his presidential bid not because of what he could offer but because of what he had already done. Not only did he bow to the wishes of the Egyptian people and remove the Muslim Brotherhood he also worked with political forces immediately afterwards to produce the roadmap. So you are saying Al-Sisi deserved to be president as a reward for bowing to the will of the masses when he was chief of the army… No. I would not use the term reward. What I would say is that he commanded the confidence of the people who looked up to him for having removed the Muslim Brotherhood. It's not that Al-Sisi was automatically promoted to head the executive. He nominated himself and went through a presidential battle Al-Sisi entered the presidential battle when he was minister of defence and had the support of the Armed Forces, the media and the entire state. True, but he did not automatically pass from minister of defence to president. He ran against Hamdeen Sabahi, a key political figure with no small support among the ranks of the young, a man who had come third in earlier presidential elections. But he had no programme to offer and did not face a presidential debate. Can we really say the election was contested? It was a presidential election, though I agree it was different from 2012. Things were very different after the removal of the Muslim Brotherhood. Let me put it this way. Al-Sisi had the support of the people. He comes from the ranks of the Armed Forces and this is something that added to his appeal. There is a tradition in Egyptian politics of the president coming from the military. Egyptians trust the army. This is the way things are. Of course it leaves room for serious political development which we should pursue. It was unfortunate that Al-Sisi did not spell out a clear programme but here again we should not compare things to 2012. That was the exception. In Egyptian politics we need to work hard to establish a formula whereby candidates offer their programmes which are then debated in public. How do you see his performance since becoming president? Do you think he has delivered on the stability-and-prosperity he promised in his handful of TV appearances before the poll? On the foreign front Al-Sisi has delivered. He acknowledged the foundations of Egyptian foreign policy when it comes to relations with Arab countries. He has reached out to Africa and pursued greater balance in international relations, not least by opening up to Russia to provide a counterweight to the US. In terms of foreign policy he has done well. How do you respond to critics who argue Al-Sisi has seen Egypt dwindle from a regional power to a follower of Saudi Arabia? I do not agree that Egypt is acting as a follower of Saudi Arabia. It joined a war with no clear objectives or timeframe, agreeing to send troops to be under the command of Saudi Arabia… No, no… I disagree. In opting to join Operation Decisive Storm in a limited way, engaging just the air force and navy to act under the command of the Saudis, Al-Sisi was being smart. On the one hand he bowed to Egyptian public opinion which dreaded participating in a war in Yemen, understandable fears given the trauma of Egypt's involvement in the 1960s, and on the other tried to somehow accommodate the Saudis. You say he is scoring well in Africa. Yet the conflict with Ethiopia over the Renaissance Dam continues. Addis Ababa is still determined to move ahead with the construction of the dam and is denying Egypt any serious guarantees. This is a very complex file which requires time and hard work. Isn't that exactly what Morsi said and nobody wanted to … Because his performance was lousy… So you are happy with Al-Sisi's performance on this front? I am saying he is showing wisdom, wisdom he probably acquired as head of military intelligence. Do Al-Sisi and his regime still have an image problem? Negative perceptions of the regime abroad could easily undermine Egypt's drive to attract investments. They have worked on this and tried to argue the 30 June case but not successfully enough. It's partly a PR issue but is compounded by shortcomings in the management of domestic affairs. How would you assess his record on the home front? He succeeded in removing the Muslim Brotherhood before he was elected president. And he has tried to eliminate them from key state bodies and ministries. The purge lacked any systematic planning but it somehow happened. This was done, and is being done, in accordance with the wishes of the public which sees the Muslim Brotherhood as a serious threat. But there are so many other things. Surely his entire presidency cannot be dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood. True. Beyond the Brotherhood there is huge scope for improvement but this is not something that will be achieved if he rules without efficient aides or continues to depend exclusively on the advice of a few army officers whose experience, by virtue of their careers, is limited. I cannot think Al-Sisi plans to continue without advisors and continue to be, practically speaking, the sole political player. That those who claim to be close to him are either security figures or media figures associated with the security apparatus is giving a very negative image, not just to the outside world but to the general public who turned out for the 25 January Revolution and expected Al-Sisi to honour its calls. Now they face a situation in which the president is not only not championing the call or the young people who spearheaded the revolution, he is associating himself with those who see the revolution as a conspiracy and a political defeat. This is very unfortunate. It is even more unfortunate that this is happening when political activists are being randomly detained and the president has failed to amend the protest law or to use his prerogative to pardon young men and women detained under the law who espouse clear anti-Muslim Brotherhood positions. Domestically, the worst thing we are seeing is a president who seems to insist on standing alone and appears determined to pursue a security-only approach. I do not underestimate the security challenges or overlook the military discipline that is a key part of Al-Sisi's background. What I am saying is that he is not on the right track on this front. Al-Sisi has also crushed the political classes. Whether towards those in place before the 25 January Revolution or those that came later, he has pursued a path of political sequestration. This is an exaggeration. What I would say is that he has opted to view political parties through the prism of their weakness — and you cannot argue that political parties, both old and new, are weak — rather than in terms of the contributions they can make to political debate, particularly in the absence of parliament How do you assess his handling of political Islam? Are you not concerned that his security choices give prominence to radicals within the Muslim Brotherhood? And what of his political association with Salafis who are in many ways more radical than the Muslim Brotherhood? I agree there is no comprehensive political vision to address political Islam, a key issue for this country. What is not in doubt is that the Muslim Brotherhood, or at least its leadership, opted for a violent strategy which provoked an excessive security response. I also have to say that it is the role of the state to act upon the political interests of the nation and not just to react. The situation is very complicated. About the Salafis, I would have to agree with you, it is an incomprehensible political pact and cannot be justified by the wish of the state to avoid coming across as anti-Islamist. The current authorities are a product of 30 June which was basically a vote of no confidence in the Islamists. But the pact with the Salafis is also about the good ties large sections of this traditional enjoy with security agencies, bringing us back to Al-Sisi's obsessive concern with security… There is an element of truth here. Someone like Russian President Vladimir Putin is a more political savvy former intelligence officer. There certainly is a much larger room for politics in the management of internal affairs than is currently being conceded. The bottom line is that security is crucial, especially in the war on terror, but it cannot be the only concern. There is clearly a role for political groups, especially given that security bodies, the Armed Forces included, face a very tough mission, especially in Sinai. In many ways Sinai is the sad story of the security first approach… Nobody can honestly claim to know exactly what is going on in Sinai. Clearly there is an excessive security approach and the immediate evidence of this are daily press communiqués listing the number of terrorists killed but without bothering to provide names or to suggest the intention was to have them arrested and sent to trial. You are overlooking the grievances of the Sinai population and the … I agree. There are security measures that have to be taken but things must be done without undermining the security of civilians or the lives of anyone, including suspected terrorists. This is what the rule of law is about. Some Coptic activists say Al-Sisi promised full citizenship rights to Christian voters but has given them nothing beyond a brief and symbolic attendance at Christmas Mass. He has failed to lift restrictions on the construction of churches and has not included more Christians in top public jobs. The cabinet is a clear example of the traditional exclusion faced by Copts. Let me say two things. The first is that symbolic gestures like his participation at the Christmas Mass should not be underestimated, especially that it was a first of its kind. Second, yes, I agree it is the real issues that ultimately count. Younger Egyptians, who comprise two thirds of the population, also have grievances. Not only have young figureheads been detained, many of exclusion from decision-making circles… This is one of the key weaknesses of Al-Sisi's presidency. He is not reaching out to those who opened the door to change on 25 January. It was a weakness inherent in the political management of the situation following Hosni Mubarak's removal on 11 February 2011 — the way the young, and I include their representative Mohamed Al-Baradei, were excluded. Al-Sisi is not scoring well at all on this issue. It is very disturbing because this is one of the key areas in which the president can align either with or against the 25 January Revolution. And what of the way the constitution, hailed as the first step on the roadmap, is constantly ignored? Or the manner in which parliamentary elections are indefinitely postponed? The latter has left Al-Sisi in control of all executive and legislative powers, surely a very peculiar set up for a democratically elected president and who came to office after his two predecessors were ousted… Let us at least say that he has not acted against the constitution, not really. But the fact is the constitution needs to be activated and the continued delay of parliamentary elections is extremely disturbing. Mega projects like the digging of a new Suez Canal channel and events like the economic conference held in Sharm El-Sheikh, where do you place them in any assessment of the president's first year in office? Potentially important, though their outcomes have yet to be seen. What I think Al-Sisi should have focused on are effective economic measures to help ease, if only a little, the daily economic sufferings of the vast majority of Egyptians who were really hopeful he would help them improve their living conditions The fact their hopes have not been met is not helping Al-Sisi's popularity. While the erosion of support is slow it is happening and it is steady. A year on do you still stand by your support for Al-Sisi? Or would it have been better for him to stay as minister of defence, given that this is area of expertise? My support has fallen somewhat, though I would add that it was unrealistic to expect the strong man to stay on as minister of defence and for someone else to assume the presidency. Put simply, it would have been unworkable.
