Fatemah Farag reads stories still filled with post-election disquiet fuelled by the flames in Beni Sweif The state-owned press continued this week to hail the electoral process and its victor. "It is fair for us to say that Mubarak is the only president the people hailed with love, appreciation and admiration for his acts of heroism in the October War -- before he became president -- and the cheers he received everywhere he went throughout his electoral campaign came because of the great love [the people have for him] which has grown with the years," explained Momtaz El-Qot, editor-in-chief of Akhbar Al-Youm, on 17 September. And the privately-owned press continued to publish reports regarding the many violations incurred during the elections. "Both the government and [state-owned] media were biased. Nor was the presidential committee honest. And the phosphoric ink was not phosphoric and the print press was cheaper than just biased," lamented Mohamed Hamad in the independent daily Al-Arabi on 18 September. Hamad suggests, however, that we must put all of this behind us and look ahead. "Let's make an electoral promise timetable... For a president to be elected means, first of all, that he must undertake the duties stipulated by the programme upon which he was elected," Hamad reminds his readers. "Which means he is transformed from a president with no accountability, with rights and no duties, to a president who must use his authority to achieve what he has promised in an announced time frame." In the same issue of the paper Abdel-Halim Qandil says, "Egypt is confronted by one of two fates: either the opposition movement is capable of peacefully ending the reign of President Mubarak and his family... or the country falls into its worst nightmare and Mubarak continues his hold on the presidency." And in the independent Sawt Al-Umma Ibrahim Eissa said, "to stay in power all this time cannot result in anything but failure and obnoxiousness. And this is what we see in Egypt's agricultural, industrial, media and cultural policies. It is what we will continue to witness every day Mubarak stays in power." Once again this week the transfer of power to Gamal Mubarak is on many minds. Qandil suggests that this transfer "from father to son may require of the father that he slaughter his Mameluks as did Mohamed Ali in the famous Citadel Massacre. He has already done this with the media and maybe he will move on to his political Mameluks with the aim of creating a void to be filled by the son." Qandil also argues that the time may have come for the likes of Safwat El-Sherif, Kamal El-Shazli, Fathi Sorour and others to leave office. In the same vein, Wael El-Ibrashi in Sawt Al-Umma on 19 September says, "Egypt is now living a civil war between... the old guard which derives its legitimacy from the saying 'if Mubarak continues to rule for another six years we must stay with him as pillars of rule as we have for the past 24 years', and the new guard that wants to pave the way for Gamal Mubarak." El-Ibrashi counts among the old guard El-Sherif, El-Shazli and Sorour, and the 'new guard' from amongst the NDP's Policies Committee. As disconcerting as election results and related future scenarios are, the fire in Beni Sweif and the subsequent resignation of the Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni -- and its subsequent rejection -- topped the press agenda. "With all of this talk of reform the time has come to end the rule that says that ministers in Egypt are removed and never resign," said Magdi Mehanna in his back page column in the independent daily Al-Masri Al-Youm on 16 September. He added, "in countries that are characterised by transparency and a respect of the law as well as the humanity of people, ministers resign for reasons less than this. In Japan ministers commit suicide for fear of shame. When will ministers commit suicide in Egypt? If they did consider the option none would be alive." Mohieddin Ragab El-Banna in October magazine said he waited for the prime minister to head to Beni Sweif. "I do not know why he did not go. In any case I'm still waiting," wrote El-Banna who pointed out that Beni Sweif is in dire need of the state's concern and attention. "Maybe the crisis was a call to the government -- which seems too busy to consider Beni Sweif -- that the governorate suffers economically, socially and culturally."
