Lambasted by a media more interested in viewer figures than national welfare, Egypt's party in government should focus on positive plans for augmenting Egyptian development, writes Abdel-Moneim Said It is the fashion these days to criticise the National Democratic Party (NDP). There's a whole slew of journalists and commentators working for satellite networks, television stations and the opposition press, in its array of political party, "independent" and "private" hues, who have made ridiculing the NDP a steady and indispensable part of their stock-in-trade. Their most common jibe is that the NDP is the party of the "regime" or the "authorities", as though political parties were supposed to remain forever a part of some nebulous realm that has no connection with power, whether in government or the opposition, a realm where policies are never discussed, but from where accusations, insults and taunts are hurled. I am perfectly aware that the NDP has many flaws in its organisation, philosophy and behaviour, and that a large contingent of this party still imagines that it is a modified form of the old Arab Socialist Union. However, in all due fairness we must acknowledge that all the other parties suffer very similar shortcomings. Yet unlike the other parties, the NDP has a relatively high level of tolerance for divergent views and freedom of opinion, and it is the party that is most prepared for political action based on detailed five-year and annual plans for the development and growth of Egypt. In addition, it is the only party that has a public policy secretariat, which actively engages public opinion in the study and deliberation of subjects that are critical to our country's progress. Indeed, acting on the maxim, "Airing quarrels does not spoil a family's intimacy," even differences that arise within the party itself are put before the public. Examples of this are manifold: the standoff between the governor of the Central Bank of Egypt and the minister of finance over the interest rate; controversies over informal deeds, the Agrium fertiliser factory in Damietta; the level of exemption from real estate taxes during the deliberation of a relevant bill, and dozens of other disputes related to education, the national budget, and the construction of private universities. No other party can boast the abovementioned traits. Today, moreover, the NDP has set another example for political parties in Egypt by publicising its preliminary ideas for its platforms for the Shura Council and other forthcoming elections during the last recent meeting of the NDP Policy Committee. The events of that meeting and the subsequent press coverage offer considerable insight into the direction the party will take at least until the Shura Council elections. Undoubtedly, this was a kind of warm-up for yet more extensive discussion and wider debate over the party's platform. After all, the party is not, or should not be, preoccupied solely with remedying Egypt's immediate problems, as much as these might press upon the mind of decision-makers. Rather, it needs to take a comprehensive view of the campaign process, extending from the forthcoming Shura Council and People's Assembly elections to the presidential elections next year. It must simultaneously bear in mind that this process is linked to a timeframe that continues up to the following presidential elections in 2017. Obviously there is a certain temptation -- and even pressure -- to deal with issues that have grabbed the attention of the media. Not that the media in question still fit the concept of the term as understood in modern societies, where the role of the media is to impart information and shed light on diverse and sometimes hidden aspects of the issues at stake. Our media has become a chief player in the political arena and may even have grown more powerful than parties and other political players. Instead of investigating issues and giving facts, our media declares positions, issues bills of indictment, and then -- appointing itself judge and jury --passes sentences with enviable certitude. In addition, driven by the desire to augment audience numbers, television stations hone in on, and not infrequently amplify, the problems and crises faced by society and never focus on the many positive aspects of society and the earnest efforts that are currently in progress to effect various forms of constructive change. (I am not speaking of the state-run media agencies here. In spite of the considerable efforts on the part of their staff, the viewer rates of national television stations have plunged to around 30 per cent, rising only to 75 per cent in Ramadan because of the many entertainment programmes that are especially designed and produced for that month). Clearly television programmers have failed to strike a balance between sensationalist media coups and social responsibility in the use of the media machinery, which has such a powerful and immediate impact on the value systems that govern the modes of interaction in Egyptian society and the relationship between its members. As a consequence of this imbalance, the media has been highly instrumental in setting an agenda that focuses on the short-term -- and short-term issues -- for Egyptian society. The NDP faces additional pressures from within, where members are pressed by their constituencies on matters pertaining to employment, rising prices, poor services and various types of material and cognitive poverty. In order to cater to their constituencies, NDP members are endlessly urging the government to embark on massive employment projects regardless of their economic impact, pestering the government for various services and subsidies regardless of costs, and pushing for changes in the civil service wage scale regardless of their inflationary effect. Rarely are such consequences discussed and those that bring them up are immediately reproached for being politically naïve. However, the forthcoming succession of electoral campaigns offers the NDP a chance to apply its plans and programmes and it would be best if it did not deviate from them so as not to sew confusion in government and among the public. The elections are, of course, an opportunity for discussion, education and political mobilisation. But that is not enough. What is good for treating the ills and problems of the present should not be allowed to dim our aspirations for a country that is prosperous, advanced and flourishing. What is required, therefore, is a vision that inspires all Egyptians -- one founded upon an optimistic forward-looking concept such as building wealth as opposed to fighting poverty. In other words, platforms should consist of proposals of measures and programmes the government should undertake in order to develop and augment national wealth. But to promote such a vision, the NDP must overcome three major obstacles. The first is the general alarm and suspicion triggered by economic policies and measures aimed at increasing economic growth rates, stimulating the economic reform process, and investing state resources optimally and in a manner that reaps the best returns for the greater public. Often popular pressures borne of mistrust of such measures have compelled the government to back down on decisions that had the potential to augment the influx of foreign investment into Egypt. Popular opposition to the "people's ownership of the management of state assets" best illustrates this. The programme came under vicious attack from various quarters that portrayed it as a scheme for selling off private sector companies to foreigners and, hence, depriving Egyptians of the benefits. The campaign escalated to the point where the programme had become grist for feature-length comedies and satires, and ultimately sapped the programme of the impetus and interest it had enjoyed when it was first put to public discussion in November 2008. A similar process has affected a number of recent bills, such as the bill for private sector involvement in public infrastructure and the social insurance and pensions bill. The second obstacle comes from certain quarters within the government itself that are pushing against policies and measures, such as the privatisation programme, aimed at laying the groundwork conducive to attracting greater levels of foreign investment. These forces are simultaneously pushing for a greater role of the state in the management of the economy, ostensibly on the grounds that a state-steered economy is better equipped to avert the detrimental effects of privatisation that is driven by the greed of the private sector with no consideration for social responsibility. Perhaps this phenomenon is one of the factors that account for the extremely sluggish pace of the privatisation process, which is entering its 18th year with only a paltry $24 billion in returns to show for itself. The third obstacle is the Egyptian media that is no longer a constructive force capable of contributing to the creation of a climate conducive to attracting higher levels of foreign investment. Evidently, the era of "service television" is over in Egypt. That was the time when television offered a medium that was characterised by a high degree of professionalism and objectivity, and that was conducive to a climate favourable to investment. Today, some 700 Arab language satellite stations are scrambling for attention and their sensationalist programming policies, tendentious editorialising and the negative ideas they are propagating have worked to generate a national climate of gloom, giving foreign investors the impression that Egypt is not a safe place for their investment because of threats of instability and rampant corruption. The foregoing obstacles need to be faced head-on, and the way to do this is with platforms espousing programmes that are clearly designed and explained, and that take the idea of augmenting our national wealth -- which is to say promoting investment and development -- as the goal and the central spirit for political action in the coming phase.
