In an unscheduled appearance on Egyptian TV, President Hosni Mubarak sought to address many national concerns. Dina Ezzat listened closely It was a little after 9pm on Saturday evening when a substantial segment of the 70 million plus population tuned in to breaking news. "Channel Two -- EGY TV Now -- President Mubarak." The president, or at least his voice, was being heard on TV -- unscheduled. And with a wide range of hot developments on home and foreign fronts, the guess is that the phone interview that President Hosni Mubarak gave to the popular Egyptian TV talk show "Al-Beit Beiytak" (Consider yourself at home) attracted millions of Egyptians who have many questions on their collective minds, ranging from the next presidential campaign to the price of food. The two issues were certainly given prominent billing in the interview, conducted by Egyptian TV talk show host Emad Adib and his accompanying crew of Tamer Amin and Jasmine Taha Zaki. Mubarak, however, touched on many more issues, including recent Coptic-Muslim tensions over accusations that an Egyptian Coptic woman, converted to Islam, then returned to Christianity. The president was also willing to comment on news reports that have been recurring in the opposition press over governmental plans to privatise the railway service and terminate the free educational system. Mubarak also addressed the recent controversy over the signing of the Egyptian-US-Israeli protocols for Qualified Industrial Zones. Those who missed the 35-minute interview could find it in full in the newspapers of Sunday morning. Many people just wanted to know what it is that merited an unscheduled TV appearance by the president. Others were looking for particular issues they wanted the president to address. "I am an accountant. I consider myself a victim of privatisation," said one individual who asked that his name be withheld. "I lost my job when my company was sold to the private sector. I'm currently depending a great deal on the monthly salary of my wife who works for a national bank. We heard that the government was planning to sell banks, too. I just wanted to know what the president had to say on this matter. "I don't usually buy the newspapers because I try to economise as much as possible but today I thought it was worth it." In the interview Mubarak had asserted that Egypt would stick to the gradual approach it had adopted on privatisation. "We started privatising some sectors. We are still working on them but there are key sectors that I do not privatise," President Mubarak said on Sunday. For Hanaa, a Cairo University student who spoke on condition that her last name and major be kept anonymous, she wanted to hear something about the presidential elections in autumn this year. "We talk so much about political reform," Hanaa said. "We read in the papers that some people including Nawal El-Saadawi (prominent feminist advocate and writer) are running for president. I also heard of a campaign to nominate Amr Moussa, our former minister of foreign affairs, for the post. And so many people are saying that Gamal Mubarak is going to be the next president." The political future of Egypt is as interesting an issue for many Egyptians as the future economic plans of the government. Actually, of the 15 people approached by Al-Ahram Weekly on Sunday, nine said they wanted to know what the president had in mind for the next presidential elections. "How do you feel each time you are sworn-in? Do you feel a new term in office or that a new round of tough responsibilities lies ahead?" were the questions Adib asked the president. "I do not wish to dwell much on this matter because it is very clear what it is like to be in office now... It is such a hard, actually harsh, and complicated matter now to be president," Mubarak said. He added, "I do not wish to go into the details of the responsibilities of the presidential post. I don't want to talk about the sacrifices. "Let me be brief about this: it is very tough to be in office; it is no luxury at all. Rather the opposite, especially under the current circumstances. Anyone who would be president of Egypt will have to work until he is drained of energy. It is a job that consumes one's health, time and nerves. It is certainly a job that deprives one of any prospects of a private life. I cannot go visit anyone because I am afraid that security will be a bother. I cannot have a walk like anyone else. It is impossible for me to go to a restaurant or to the movies. I am stripped of my freedoms. This means that the president is really held captive." And if some want to run for president, Mubarak said they were most welcome. "Let them all run," he said. The decision as to who is chosen president, Mubarak affirmed, is decided "at the ballot box. Meanwhile, both in his interview with Egyptian TV on Saturday and in subsequent statements he made on Sunday, President Mubarak also responded to the national controversy over the issue of the QIZs. "It is meant to serve the [economic] interests of Egypt's citizens as it will widen the scope of exports to the US," Mubarak said. The president appealed to critics of the deal, in and out the country, to show understanding of national economic concerns that he, as head of state, must attend to irrespective of how popular or unpopular the decisions he makes are. "Listen. Let us be clear about this. We have a peace deal with Israel," Mubarak said. According to Mubarak, Cairo is open about its relationship with Tel Aviv unlike other Arab capitals that have covert economic relations with Israel. "They trade with Israel, then hold conferences to decry normalisation." Speaking the following morning, which was Coptic Christmas, Mubarak sent greetings to all Egyptians who celebrate the feast. He also addressed the controversy over the case of Wafaa Costantine, the wife of a priest who converted to Islam -- allegedly under pressure from some colleagues -- then returned to her original faith, in the wake of a Coptic outcry. "We should never allow an individual incident to violate the strong fabric of this nation that brings us all together as Muslims and Christians in one nation that we all belong to," the president asserted. Coming on the eve of the Palestinian presidential elections and less than three weeks from the much-debated Iraqi elections, the president's interview addressed both issues and expressed hope that both the Palestinian and Iraqi people will be able to see light at the end of the tunnel. "I saw the interview. I was at home watching this nice new programme "Al-Beit Beiytak" when the president started to give the interview," said a taxi driver who has a law degree from Cairo University. "I think that so much is happening and that so much will be happening, not just here in Egypt but around us. I really think it is important for the president to talk to us more often. Perhaps he could make a regular address on radio or TV. It would also be nice if we could talk to him."
