Iraq, Israel demolishing Palestinian homes in Gaza, and Egypt's failure to get a single 2010 Fifa vote dominated the Egyptian press this week, writes Gamal Nkrumah For a change, Iraq did not feature prominently in Sunday's papers. The country's state of affairs received scant attention in Monday's papers as well. Instead, the news became Egypt's spectacular downfall after failing to garner a vote in its drive to host the 2010 World Cup. But by Tuesday, the attention of the press was once again squarely focussed on Iraq. "The assassination of the head of Iraq's Governing Council Izzuddin Selim in a car blast in central Baghdad", ran the front page headline of the national daily Al-Ahram on Tuesday. "Washington's 4,000 troops transferred from South Korea to bolster the American military presence in Iraq," ran another Al-Ahram headline. On Wednesday, Egypt's economic relations with Germany took precedence. The national papers highlighted Germany's Economy Minister Wolfgang Clement and his meeting with President Hosni Mubarak. "President Mubarak reviews developments in Iraq and Palestine with the visiting German economy minister and urges increased German investments in Egypt," ran the front page headline of Wednesday's edition. The paper added that President Mubarak asked for smoothing the entry of Egyptian agricultural products into European and international markets. The national daily Al-Akhbar also spotlighted the visit. "Germany supports Mubarak's efforts to resolve the Iraqi and Palestinian problems," ran the paper's front page headline on Wednesday. Egyptian papers also speculated on the upcoming Arab summit in Tunis. In a scathing critique of Arab summit meetings and the futility of diplomatic niceties and empty rhetoric, former Egyptian Minister of Defence and Security Chief Amin Howeidi wrote in Al-Ahram that strong and wise leadership is sorely needed to pull the Arab world out of the morass it now wallows in. "Collective work can only be accomplished by wise leaders with experience, aptitude and the foresight to confront threats to the [Arab nation] and to advance the common interests [of Arabs]. On this basis, it is not true to say that a common language, shared religion and even a common history is the foundation stone on which collective work is built," Howeidi stressed. "What do Arabs want out of the Tunis summit?" asked Wednesday's Al-Ahram editorial. In much the same vein, Salaheddin Hafez wrote a piece on the prospects of the success of the Arab summit which was due to have been held in March but which was postponed after Tunisia called it off at virtually the last minute in the wake of divisions over Arab reforms. "There are still big question marks hanging over the Arab summit scheduled to be held in Tunis next week in spite of the reassuring official statements," Hafez stressed. "Could Arab leaders answer the questions of the Arab masses?" But it was Egypt's failure to host the 2010 World Cup that grabbed the attention of many of the country's pundits. "Host democracy, not the World Cup," wrote George Fahim in the opposition daily Al-Wafd. "We treated the matter as if it were a joke, believing that a combination of street smarts and Egyptian history would get things done. It's as if we thought the Pharaohs would dig themselves out of their graves and do all the dirty work for us." He highlighted the fact that South Africa sent three former presidents to bolster their chances of winning. "Then again, we shouldn't be so harsh given that our political system doesn't provide us with many 'former' politicians," Fahim said tongue in cheek. There was anger in the People's Assembly over Egypt's failure to win a single vote as MP Zakariya Azmi, President Mubarak's chief of staff, demanded an investigation. Al- Ahram ran a dignified front page headline. "South Africa wins the bid to host the World Cup football finals in 2010. Mubarak congratulates Mbeki," the paper said, and splashed a touching photo of the first post- apartheid South African President Nelson Mandela overcome with emotion and clutching the World Cup trophy in his hands. Many writers vented their frustration at FIFA President Sepp Blatter. His condescending remarks about Egypt were widely reported. "I think the perception in Egypt was not one that understood they were not in the race," Blatter was reported as saying in Zurich. The country's campaign bid to host 2010 was also severely criticised. By Sunday, the response of the papers to Egypt's fall was acrimonious. "Who is responsible for arranging a meeting between Blatter and President Mubarak?" demanded Al-Wafd 's front page headline. "FIFA is a corrupt organisation, and its head is a notorious international crook," the opposition paper continued. "An immediate investigation into the squandering of public funds should be conducted. The money must be returned to state coffers." Significantly enough, none of Egypt's official papers disputed the wisdom of the decision to award the event to South Africa, the first time an African nation will host the World Cup, the biggest sporting event after the Olympics. Egyptian commentators overwhelmingly agreed that the reasons for South Africa's victory were political -- not only in the sense that it lobbied hard at an international level, but that it also reflected the world's admiration of South Africa's solid democratic foundations. They all, however, felt that something can be salvaged out of Egypt's failure to host the World Cup. Al-Ahram sports columnist Hassan El- Mistikawi summed it up in a strongly-worded plea for more transparency, accountability and good governance. "Since the zero vote will be debated in the People's Assembly, I hope that we shall come up with a result. This is a chance for every official responsible for the vote to be brought to book. This means that the minister of youth must speak up and tell the whole truth. He must bear full responsibility with courage. I hope that at the end of the parliamentary investigation into the affair we do not cover up with a vote of confidence." As the week progressed, it became apparent, however, that other matters preoccupied the pundits more than Egypt's disastrous performance at Zurich. One story, Israel's demolition of Palestinian homes in the Gaza Strip, incensed public opinion, reflected in the sorrowful outpourings of commentators. "Israel begins a war of extermination in Rafah," read Al-Wafd 's warning, summing up the sombre public mood.
