The return to Egypt of former IAEA head Mohamed El-Baradei was the talk of the town, writes Mohamed El-Sayed. The larger Arab world, explains Rasha Saad, had nothing but praise for the UAE's unmasking of the Israeli assassination of a Hamas official For over a week writers have been preoccupied with what seemed to be just one topic: the return of former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency Mohamed El-Baradei to Egypt. The return of El-Baradei, who headed the agency for 12 years, would have gone unnoticed had he not hinted a couple of months ago of his intention to run for presidential elections in 2011. While independent newspapers were awash with news reports about the details of El-Baradei's flight and the preparations made by opposition activists to receive him at Cairo International Airport, official newspapers mentioned in passing that President Hosni Mubarak ordered that the VIP hall at the airport be opened for El-Baradei. The weekly Akhbar Al-Yom ran a small news item that, "El-Baradei came from Vienna on board Austrian Airlines despite the fact that EgyptAir had a similar flight on that day". The difference in the coverage of the event between independent and opposition papers -- let alone the international media -- on one side and official newspapers on the other reflected both sides' views on El-Baradei's presidential ambitions. Writing in the daily independent Al-Shorouk, which earmarked much space for the coverage of El-Baradei's news throughout the past three months, Amr Hamzawy proposed three suggestions for El-Baradei to adopt if he wanted to bring about political change in Egypt. He called upon El-Baradei to "remind people of their duties and that Egypt will not advance or change politically towards democracy unless they effectively seek so and withstand the challenges and dangers that accompany political activism, including oppression practised by security apparatuses." Hamzawy, a veteran political analyst with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, advised El-Baradei not to "let the opposition look at you as a saviour coming from abroad to achieve democracy with a magic wand... The partisan and non-partisan opposition is unable to offer you political or popular support on the ground for they lack in both." The murky realm of Egyptian politics might cause a promising politician to burn his political ambitions out. Therefore, Hamzawy advised El-Baradei to "steer clear of inter-partisan and non-partisan conflicts, and call upon the opposition to develop their popular support and formulate clear policies meant to push Egypt forward towards democracy and progress." He also called upon El-Baradei to capitalise on the media momentum he gained and translate it into "political and social momentum aimed at putting more pressure on the regime in order to hold fair parliamentary and presidential elections this year and next year." The sight of 1,500 people waiting for El-Baradei at the airport with posters of his likeness sparked off a spate of analytical pieces. Writing in the daily Al-Dostour, Tarek El-Shennawi argued the fact that those who were waiting at Cairo Airport for El-Baradei "signals a tangible change in Egypt we have never experienced before, a change the government will attempt with all its power to stop. But it's impossible to eliminate this change... Egypt has undoubtedly changed, but some of us still fear of talking about politics." Writing in the daily Al-Masry Al-Yom veteran writer and political activist Hassan Nafaa saw a new dawn emerging in Egyptian politics by the return of El-Baradei. "Without a shadow of a doubt the gathering of thousands of Egyptians who waited for El-Baradei at Cairo Airport in light of a political atmosphere characterised by oppression and a culture of fear has heralded a new era. It proved that Egypt's young generations are capable of triggering political mobility that could lead to much awaited change." Many pundits tried to paint a picture of the future of El-Baradei and his next step. In his column in Al-Shorouk Wael Qandil wondered: "What after the warm reception of El-Baradei at Cairo Airport? Will he recline and be content with TV interviews in which he will drop hints more than make firm statements? Or will he turn into a real participant in managing the battle for change in Egypt?" By returning to Egypt, it seems El-Baradei has burned his bridges, Qandil opined. "I believe that El-Baradei has entered the phase of no- return, especially after he awakened the dream of change in people whom we thought would remain inactive for a long time." He added that, "El-Baradei ought to make it crystal clear that he will not forsake the people's dreams or fail them, whatever the price may be." Other columnists believe that the El-Baradei fever will soon abate. Writing in the independent weekly Al-Fagr, Adel Hammouda was of the opinion that, "the imaginative image of El-Baradei was created due to the political void [in the country]." He added "the attacks levelled by pro-government writers against El-Baradei was behind his popularity... it's an old game I don't know why the regime didn't learn from it." Hammouda believed that El-Baradei will do "nothing more than talk... he will speak about what we should do and what is required, and he will impose his conditions before he is involved in the political game... he wants to play politics from an ivory tower in a country whose people die for a loaf of bread and butane." Pro-government newspapers, by their nature, took the official line. Writing in the daily official Al-Gomhuriya, Mohamed Ali Ibrahim wrote that, "since El-Baradei does not believe in the existent political parties, he is a unique person and hence he should offer us a platform based on which people shall elect him, a realistic platform that offers solutions for the existent problems, not telling us empty slogans." By
