By Nabil Abde-Fattah The new cabinet is composed largely of technocrats with experience in government bureaucracies. The one interesting development is the inclusion of businessmen, though the choice of dual-nationality ministers, like the new minister of tourism, a Saudi-Egyptian, seems odd given that neither the Shura Council, nor the People's Assembly, admits dual-nationality members. The new government is but a clone of Atef Ebeid's. Only 10 out of 30 ministers have actually been replaced. The reshuffle looks like an attempt to buy time until the new People's Assembly elections, when a referendum will be conducted to determine whether to extend President Mubarak's term of office. The dominance of the old guard is one of the most prominent features of the new government, together with the growing influence of the NDP Policy Secretariat: together these reflect the generational fault lines within the National Democratic Party and, by extension, the state. The exclusion of figures who have held office for more than two decades -- the minister of information and the minister of agriculture are the most prominent exclusions -- is also noteworthy, as is the curtailing of the influence, and portfolio, of Kamal El-Shazli. The slowness with which Ahmed Nazif, the new prime minister, selected his cabinet betrays his lack of political nous, as does the absence, in the cabinet that emerged, of experts in their respective fields -- odd given that the prime minister had a free hand in the selection process in the majority of posts. Women are inadequately represented -- the ministers of social affairs and international cooperation are too old to reflect the aspirations of Egyptian women, while the presence of Copts is not really felt. There is consistency in the leanings of the cabinet economic team -- this, too, is a notable feature -- though whether consistency is enough to tackle an escalating recession, unemployment and budget deficit, is far from assured in the absence of any holistic vision of reform. This week's Soapbox speaker is editor of "State of Religion in Egypt", an annual report issued by Al- Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies.
