Nobody is sure who will accept becoming the next prime minister of Egypt at this critical juncture, but many want potential presidential candidate Mohamed El-Baradei, Gamal Essam El-Din reports After Egypt's military rulers agreed to accept the resignation of the nine-month-old government of prime minister Essam Sharaf, speculation was rife as to who was ready to become head of a national salvation government. On Tuesday night, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, minister of defence and chairman of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), announced that until a national salvation government is formed, Sharaf's cabinet would act as a caretaker government. Tantawi's announcement came after a five-hour meeting between representatives of major political parties and two presidential candidates -- Amr Moussa and Mohamed Selim El-Awwa -- and chief of staff Lieutenant-General Sami Anan. "An agreement was reached to form a government of national salvation whose mission will be to achieve the goals of the 25 January Revolution," El-Awwa said. Although youths who helped start the revolution proposed the salvation cabinet idea, most of them rejected the results of the meeting with Anan as well as Tantawi's TV address to the nation on Tuesday. Many of them believe that the government of Sharaf was just a puppet in the hands of SCAF which made it unable to achieve almost any of the goals of the revolution. They cite the government's slow pace in issuing laws aimed at barring the diehards of ousted president Hosni Mubarak's defunct ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) from participating in the upcoming parliamentary elections. They also accuse Sharaf's government of failing to impose security and safeguarding the public against thuggery. They also believe that Sharaf's government still includes some NDP remnants who are opposed to reform. Revolutionary youth movements add that "as long as the national salvation government will remain subject to the SCAF's control, it will be a military government in the guise of a civilian administration. Gamal Zahran, a professor of political science at Suez Canal University, said "nobody is ready to be appointed the prime minister of a national salvation government as long as it remains under the directives of SCAF. "It will be like a short-term tranquiliser," Zahran said, adding that, "the only solution is to give the national salvation government the full powers and authority to bear its responsibilities and this will be possible only when SCAF cedes power to a civilian presidential council." Former ex-chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency El-Baradei has been mentioned among the potential candidates to take the helm of a national salvation government. El-Baradei has said he was ready to head a new government at this critical moment "provided I assume full powers." Zahran believes that El-Baradei "could be the best choice at this moment, with most forces believing he is a man of integrity and a strong personality and that he could take the country towards a full transition to democracy." Sharaf's government was appointed on 7 March, thus staying in power less than nine months. Sharaf was selected by the Coalition of the 25 January Revolution Youth to replace the government of Ahmed Shafik who was very close to Mubarak. He was also Mubarak's last prime minister. Sharaf was hailed in Tahrir Square in a million- man demonstration on 3 March. They said Sharaf was dismissed when he was minister of transportation because he disagreed with the Mubarak regime and because he was an honourable and modest man. Sharaf himself told Tahrir protesters that, "my legitimacy stems from your support and once I feel I have lost your support I will come to you and inform you that I will leave office." Sharaf never went to Tahrir Square, later giving the impression that he was a SCAF lackey. The last straw came when Ali El-Salmi, deputy prime minister for political affairs and a leading member of the liberal-oriented Wafd Party, proposed drafting a document on inviolable constitutional principles. This angered, among others, Islamist parties who organised a demonstration on Friday to protest against El-Salmi's document. Although the demonstration was peaceful, it turned violent the next day when a number of protesters staged a sit-in in Tahrir Square. They clashed with police who tried to disperse them, with the confrontation leaving more than 30 dead as Al-Ahram Weekly went to press. After accepting his government's resignation on Tuesday, Sharaf said his government had "realised many of the goals of the revolution and that it was preparing to pave the way to democracy by holding parliamentary elections next Monday." Many believe that Sharaf's government will remain in office until parliamentary elections are held. Minister of Local Administration Mohamed Attia said, "the Sharaf government cannot leave power before the election, at least not until the first stage of the election is held." Although nobody is sure when the new salvation cabinet will be appointed, many are convinced that more trouble lies ahead should Sharaf stay in power longer than is absolutely necessary.
