The Muslim Brotherhood and ruling military are caught up in a game of brinksmanship, reports Amani Maged Recent exchanges between the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) and the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) recalled the 1954 showdown between the military and the MB which resulted in the latter being banned and many of its leading members imprisoned. For most of the last 12 months the MB and SCAF got along fine. The honeymoon ended when the MB started gunning for the El-Ganzouri government, and SCAF decided to put its foot down. SCAF not only rejected pressure to sack El-Ganzouri and his cabinet but began talking about reconciliation deals with members of the old regime, something the MB could not countenance. To make things worse, SCAF was less than thrilled by the MB's handling of the Constituent Assembly. The MB's political wing, the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), retorted by voicing suspicions that the presidential elections may end up being rigged. SCAF, incensed by the MB's rhetoric, warned the group against "repeating the mistakes of the past", which could only be taken as a reference to the 1950s showdown. Undeterred, the FJP posted excerpts from the memoirs of Egypt's first president, Mohamed Naguib, on its Facebook page, with Naguib complaining that Farouk had been expelled only to be replaced by 13 kings. The reference was to the 13 members of Abdel-Nasser's Revolutionary Command Council who inaugurated the military's control of political life in Egypt. "The SCAF should learn from history," insisted senior FJP member Ahmed Abu Baraka. "It should learn that the repression and injustice that lasted for 60 years have taken Egypt out of history and geography and drowned it in ignorance, poverty and disease. It was the biggest crime in human history." Hosni Mubarak, Muammar Gaddafi, Ali Abdallah Saleh and many other military dictators were ousted by their nations, Abu Baraka pointed out, and "Europe was only able to achieve progress in material and intellectual terms after it broke free from all forms of military dictatorship." FJP Assistant Secretary-General Osama Yassin said that the past will not repeat itself and, quoting a saying attributed to the Prophet Mohamed, the "faithful are not stung by the same snake twice". In an attempt to turn up the pressure on SCAF the MB threatened to field its own presidential candidate. This is not going to be an easy decision. It involves the MB breaking earlier promises. Discussions aimed at selecting a presidential candidate have failed so far, though the MB will hold another meeting on Tuesday in an attempt to make progress. The MB's problems with SCAF are not confined to El-Ganzouri or even to the election of a new president. Even the formation of a coalition government seems to be stalled by SCAF demands. According to unconfirmed reports, SCAF wanted to appoint two deputy prime ministers and 10 ministers in the future government. The reports, though they have been denied by FJP deputy leader Essam El-Erian, point to another aspect of the current power struggle between the SCAF and the MB. Sources within the MB say the group may abandon the idea of fielding a presidential candidate in exchange for SCAF withdrawing its support of El-Ganzouri's government. The Nour and Wasat parties have been trying to defuse tensions. One proposal suggested by Wasat Party mediators was a meeting between FJP and Nour officials and other political groups in an attempt to hammer out a more representative Constituent Assembly. Mediators are also trying to persuade SCAF to abolish Article 28 of its constitutional declaration that places all decisions of the Supreme Committee for Presidential Elections beyond appeal. Wasat Party mediators are also pushing for the government to stay in office but cooperate more with parliament. According to Wasat Party officials the three proposals -- on the Constituent Assembly, the constitutional declaration, and El-Ganzouri's government -- must be addressed as a package deal to defuse the situation. The FJP denies monopolising the selection of the constituent assembly, insisting in a statement that only 30 of its members will sit on the 100 person assembly. According to reports, the FJP has indicated that it would be willing to withdraw some of its assembly members and see them replaced by liberal representatives. Meanwhile, an administrative court will rule on 10 April on the constitutionality of the formation of the constituent assembly.
