The new government formed by Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb hardly signals a radical change. Political analysts agree that as Mehleb was instructed by interim President Adli Mansour to form his new government in just three days he had no choice but to retain most of the old faces from the government of his predecessor Hazem Al-Beblawi. Mehleb was officially commissioned by interim President Adli Mansour to form a new government on 26 February, two days after Al-Al-Beblawi's resignation. Twenty ministers — or almost two thirds — from the outgoing cabinet have retained their posts and eleven new ministers have been appointed. The cabinet reshuffle also saw 12 ministries merged into six. The ministries of trade and investment; planning and cooperation; youth and sports; higher education and scientific research; local and administrative development and transitional justice and parliamentary affairs have been integrated. Head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) Field Marshal Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi remains as first deputy premier and defence minister. If Al-Sisi stands for president he must resign from his ministerial post and his position as head of the armed forces. Informed sources say Al-Sisi opted to remain in office as defence minister until a new law regulating presidential polls is finalised. Al-Sisi's decision to stay in office followed interim President Adli Mansour's 27 February decree specifying the defence minister must be a military officer and have served in the armed forces at the rank of major general for at least five years. Hossam Eissa, the outgoing minister of higher education, told a TV talk show on Saturday that the Mehleb government faces two formidable tasks: restoring stability and improving economic conditions. Eissa warned that the private media “now has the power to tarnish the image of any government that does not serve its agenda”. While Al-Beblawi government was trying its best to restore order on the street by issuing a protest law Eissa claims it was branded as dictatorial by local and foreign media. “Now, after the law has been in effect for two months, it is clear that it was effective in stemming violence and restoring order.” One of the ways governments have been tarnished since the removal of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, says Eissa, is the repetition of foreign media allegations that “the military, led by Al-Sisi, has become the major power in Egypt now, forming and dismissing cabinet ministers as it likes”. “From a seven-month period in office as minister I can say the army never interfered. Suggestions that the Al-Beblawi government was forced to resign by the army are completely groundless. In one cabinet meeting held by the Al-Beblawi government Al-Sisi appealed to cabinet ministers not to give heed to foreign media descriptions of him as the de-facto president.” Mehleb told journalists on Saturday that “the reason I retained two thirds of Al-Beblawi's ministers was the fact that many of the new faces approached refused to be members of a military regime government while others feared they would be unable to withstand the scrutiny of a hostile media.” “I approached six figures to replace Saber Arab as minister of culture,” he added, “and all of them rejected the post.” In his first speech since being sworn in as Egypt's new premiere Mehleb called on Sunday for an end to “factional protests”. He outlined the priorities of his government as combating terrorism and imposing order and security. “Maintaining security and fighting terrorism are top of my cabinet's priorities. The battle against militants will be conducted in accordance with the law and in a manner that preserves the blood of Egyptians and human rights.” Mehleb said he was searching for “rapid solutions” to provide citizens with their basic needs while restoring economic balance through the creation of an investment-friendly environment and greater employment opportunities for the young. “Priority will be given to national projects such as the Suez Canal and development projects across a wide range of sectors.” He vowed to create a neutral political climate and clear the country of corruption while giving full support to the private sector. “The people should view the coming stage as a period of hope rather than disappointment. From now on sit-ins and strikes must stop so we can embark on a fresh phase of construction and development.” The new government's first test comes next week when universities open after a month and a half long holiday. Interior minister Mohamed Ibrahim told a delegation of university student associations that security forces will do their best to impose order on university campuses and will use force to combat violent protests by Muslim Brotherhood students. Some of the outgoing government's best known figures will not be joining the new cabinet. They include Hossam Eissa, who served as deputy prime minister and higher education minister, veteran labour activist and minister of manpower Kamal Abu-Aita and finance minister Ahmed Galal. Ministers from Al-Beblawi's cabinet who will remain in their posts are the two most influential post-30 June figures, Minister of Defence Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi and Minister of Interior Mohamed Ibrahim. Al-Sisi was appointed defence minister and commander of the armed forces by Mohamed Morsi in 2012. He later took the lead in announcing the ouster of Morsi in July 2013 after which he retained his position as defence minister and became first deputy prime minister. Interim President Adli Mansour issued a decree in January promoting Al-Sisi to the rank of field marshal “as a reward for his great service to the nation”. In the same month the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) released an official statement freeing Al-Sisi to run for president. Al-Sisi has yet to officially announce his candidacy. To be eligible he must first resign from the military. Ibrahim first entered the cabinet in the January 2013 reshuffle. He was one of the few ministers to keep their posts after Morsi was deposed. In the wake of the dispersal of pro-Morsi protest camps in Rabaa Al-Adawiya and Al-Nahda Square which left hundreds dead, human rights activists and opposition figures have called for Ibrahim to be dismissed. Under Ibrahim's leadership the police launched a crackdown, first against Islamists and more recently secular opposition activists. Some analysts, like security expert Sameh Seif Al-Yazal, view Ibrahim's time at the interior minister as a success story. “His firm support for the anti-Morsi protests and subsequent crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood violence saved the country from collapse,” says Al-Yazal. “Ibrahim also remained unfazed when the protest law brought him under fire from human rights activists.” Ibrahim's main challenge has been a militant insurgency in the Sinai and a growing number of terrorist attacks elsewhere. Minister of Foreign Affairs and Egypt's former long-time ambassador in Washington Nabil Fahmi has also retained his position. Most of the seats around the cabinet table are now held by technocrats with no definite political affiliations. They include Minister of Tourism Hisham Zaazou; Minister of Transport Ibrahim Al-Dumeiri; Minister of Local Administrative Development Adel Labib; Minister of Agriculture Ayman Abu Hadid; Minister of Antiquities Mohamed Ibrahim; Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Ashraf Al-Arabi; Minister of Culture Mohamed Saber Arab; Minister of Petroleum Sherif Ismail; Minister of Waqfs Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa; Minister of Youth and Sports Khaled Abdel-Aziz; Minister of Education Mahmoud Abul-Nasr and Minister of Irrigation Mohamed Abdel-Moteleb. Three politically-affiliated cabinet ministers retained their positions. Leading Wafd Party member Mounir Fakhri Abdel-Nour remains as minister of industry, investment and trade. Atef Helmi is being kept as minister of telecommunications and Amin Al-Mahdi as minister of transitional justice and parliamentary affairs. The new cabinet includes four women. Minister of Information Dorreya Sharafeddin and Minister of Environment Laila Iskandar are held over from Al-Beblawi government. They have been joined by Nahed Al-Ashri as minister of manpower and immigration and Ghada Wali as minister of social solidarity. Outgoing minister of justice Adel Abdel-Hamid is replaced by technocrat Nayer Osman. Mohamed Shaker now heads the Ministry of Electricity; Hossam Kamal Abul-Kheir is the new minister of civil aviation; Khaled Hanafi is minister of supply and internal trade; Mostafa Madbouli is minister of housing; Hani Qadri minister of finance; Wael Al-Degwi is minister of higher education and scientific research; Adel Al-Adawi is minister of health and Ibrahim Younis as minister of military production.
