Forming a new cabinet was only the first step along what promises to be a difficult path for new Prime Minister Kamal El-Ganzouri, Gamal Essam El-Din reports After a marathon of disputes and numerous political objections, the government of prime minister-designate Kamal El-Ganzouri was sworn in yesterday. The swearing-in ceremony was held in the presence of Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, chairman of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF). The swearing-in also came after El-Ganzouri was able to surmount the final obstacle: finding a new interior minister. Mohamed Ibrahim Youssef, a former deputy interior minister for prison affairs, was appointed the new interior minister instead of Mansour El-Eissawi who was given the job on 7 March. Meantime, a SCAF decree was issued amending paragraph 10 of Article 56 of the 30 March constitutional declaration to allow some of SCAF's presidential powers to be delegated to the prime minister. As such, El-Ganzouri will enjoy presidential powers except the two areas of the judiciary and Armed Forces. By Tuesday the names of most cabinet ministers had already been leaked to the public. At least 12 members of the outgoing cabinet of Essam Sharaf will retain their posts. They include Minister of Petroleum Abdallah Ghorab, Minister of Tourism Mounir Fakhri Abdel-Nour, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohamed Kamel Amr, Minister of Telecommunications Mohamed Salem, Minister of Waqfs (Religious Endowments) Mohamed Abdel-Fadil El-Qussi, Minister of Irrigation Hisham Qandil, Minister of Industry Mahmoud Eissa and Minister of Military Production Ali Sabri. Leftist economist Gouda Abdel-Khaleq was retained as a minister with a new portfolio, Supply and Internal Trade, which replaces the Ministry of Social Solidarity. The new cabinet also includes figures who served under the regime of ousted president Hosni Mubarak -- Minister of International Cooperation Fayza Abul-Naga, Minister of Electricity Hassan Younis and Minister of Housing Mohamed Fathi El-Baradei. New cabinet ministers include chairman of the Higher Council of Culture Shaker Abdel-Hamid as Minister of Culture. Emad Ghazi resigned from the post on 19 November in protest at the brutal security crackdown on protesters in Mohamed Mahmoud Street. Minister of Agriculture went to Mohamed Reda Ismail. The agriculture portfolio was originally slated for agronomist Saad Nassar, former president of Fayoum University. But just minutes before the oath, Ministry of Agriculture employees vehemently objected to Nassar's appointment, forcing a last-minute change. Nassar was close to Mubarak loyalist Youssef Wali who served as minister of agriculture for 22 years and as secretary-general of Mubarak's ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) for 17 years. Mohamed Ibrahim Ali, a professor at Cairo University, was appointed Minister of Antiquities. The old Ministry of Insurance and Social Affairs has been resurrected and will be topped by Nagwa Khalil. Senior Judge Adel Abdel-Hamid replaces Mohamed Abdel-Aziz El-Guindi as minister of justice. Economist Momtaz El-Said becomes minister of finance, replacing Hazem El-Biblawi who occupied the post for just three months. Ahmed Anis, chairman of NileSat, takes over as minister of information from Wafd journalist Osama Heikal. Fouad El-Nawawi, a professor at Qasr Al-Aini's Faculty of Medicine, will head the Health Ministry and Hussein Massoud, with whom El-Ganzouri met on Tuesday, was named minister of civil aviation. The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research was split in two. Hussein Mustafa Moussa was made minister of higher education, while Nadia Zakhari, an economist of the Coptic faith, was appointed minister of scientific research. Ashraf El-Sharqawi was appointed minister of investment and public sector. His responsibilities include implementing the privatisation programme. Galal El-Said became minister of transport; Gamal El-Arabi minister of education; Mustafa Hussein Kamel minister of state for environmental affairs; and Fathi Fikri as minister of local administration. In El-Ganzouri's government deputy prime ministers were conspicuously absent. As a result, Sharaf's controversial deputy prime minister Ali El-Silmi, a Wafdist, was fired. El-Silmi had caused huge controversy when he drafted a document on "supra-constitutional principles" that was fiercely rejected by Islamists. The Muslim Brotherhood led a demonstration against the document in Tahrir Square on 18 November, demanding that Sharaf fire El-Silmi. In a press conference on Tuesday, El-Ganzouri said his government will come "as a salvation for the 25 January Revolution. "The deterioration in security and the economic situation pose a big threat to the revolution, and the job of my government is to improve these conditions," El-Ganzouri said. He added that he believed that political issues dominated the agenda of the revolution at the expense of economic stability and security. El-Ganzouri said he expected that his government "will not win the approval of everyone, but I believe that nobody in Egypt now feels satisfied about the economic and security conditions." According to El-Ganzouri, the new minister of interior must focus on criminal issues and the respect of human rights. "I do not accept using force with any citizen," said El-Ganzouri. He said he plans to hold a dialogue with protesters who have been staging a sit-in in front of the cabinet building in downtown Cairo. Observers believe the delay in the swearing-in ceremony of the cabinet is a result of El-Ganzouri's difficulties in finding a new interior minister. An official at the ministry disclosed that several high-ranking security officials have been named as possible candidates but most turned down the offer. Protesters in Tahrir Square have also objected to the nominations. Among the names put forward were Abdel-Rehim El-Qenawi, deputy interior minister for general security. Rumours that Major General Mohsen El-Fangari, a member of the SCAF, was also being considered have been refuted by El-Ganzouri. "When Tahrir Square is occupied by activists protesting against SCAF and El-Ganzouri and accusing security forces of killing more than 40 revolutionaries between 19 and 25 November few people will want the job of interior minister," says Sameh Seif El-Yazal, a former intelligence officer and chairman of Al-Gomhouriya Press Organisation's Centre for Strategic Studies. Human rights organisations have long called a restructuring of the Interior Ministry, which has a history of suppressing protests. Finding a suitable candidate for the Interior Ministry is but one of many problems El-Ganzouri faces. Tahrir Square protesters and private media channels have rejected El-Ganzouri's own appointment, and complain about the presence of Mubarak era officials in the cabinet. Pressure groups have also voiced objections to possible appointees, narrowing any room for manoeuvre. The General Syndicate of Farmers objected to keeping Minister of Agriculture Salah Youssef in office on the grounds that he visited Israel in 2004, while workers organisations have made the selection of a new minister of manpower increasingly problematic. Mohamed Ibrahim Ali's appointment as minister of antiquities has already been questioned by employees at the Supreme Council of Antiquities. El-Ganzouri, selected by SCAF on 25 November to form a national salvation cabinet, now says the name of the new interior minister will be made public during the swearing-in ceremony. He ascribed the delay in announcing the new cabinet to the first round of parliamentary elections held on 28 November and his own desire "to listen to the viewpoints of all sectors of society, especially members of the 25 January revolutionary movements". Revolutionary groups had criticised the performance of El-Ganzouri's predecessor Sharaf and his government, which in nine months in power seemed to be little more than a SCAF puppet. The Egyptian Revolutionary Coalition (ERC) remains adamant that "this [new] government will not divert us from our main target, which is the appointment of a civilian presidential council and a national salvation government led by Mohamed El-Baradei." Other groups, however, announced their support for El-Ganzouri's government. "El-Ganzouri's experience will help Egypt in the current, pre-presidential election phase," says Gamal El-Melisi of the Egyptian Independents' Group. El-Ganzouri also enjoys the backing of possible presidential candidates Amr Moussa and Mohamed Selim El-Awwa. Negotiations were under way between El-Ganzouri and representatives of protesters to leave Tahrir Square and Maglis Al-Shaab Street and open them for traffic.
