Mubarak's speeches before the annual NDP conference answered some persistent questions, albeit indirectly, writes Dina Ezzat It was not what President Hosni Mubarak said while addressing the four-day annual conference of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP), but what he did not that resonated loudest. He did not make a single direct reference to rumours over who would be the party's candidate at the next presidential election, scheduled for autumn 2011, despite the almost hysterical speculation that either the president himself will seek a sixth term, or that his younger son, Gamal, will be adopted as the NDP's candidate. Egypt, said Mubarak, has "solid institutions and a constitution" capable of securing its present and its future. "The constitution is the source of security and arbitration that rules over everybody." Mubarak's comments, which echoed those he made just prior to the 2005 presidential elections, were greeted with applause by delegates attending the inaugural session of the conference on Saturday evening. The same audience also applauded when Mubarak stated that "institutions are firm while individuals come and go". It was not the clear cut answer for which many had been hoping, if only to put an end to the increasingly shrill speculation. There were undoubtedly those who expected the president to reiterate his promise of a couple of years ago, when he insisted he would "keep on serving the nation for as long as the heart beats". Others might have expected at least a hint of a retirement scenario. None was offered by Mubarak. The president, once again, was keeping his cards close to his chest. Perhaps the simplest conclusion to draw is that 83-year-old Mubarak has not yet made up his mind, or if he has, he is unwilling to indicate how two years ahead of the event. Nor did the president answer questions that have recently surfaced on a possible new amendment of Article 76 of the constitution that stipulates the requirements -- tough ones, its critics say -- demanded of presidential candidates. On the political fate of Gamal Mubarak the president was less enigmatic. Both in his inaugural speech, and in his concluding remarks at the end of the conference on Monday evening, he emphasised the crucial role played by younger NDP leaders since 2002. It will have escaped few commentators that 2002 was the date Gamal Mubarak was promoted to head the party's then newly created Policies Committee. Mubarak made it clear his current priority, as party head, is to prepare for the 2010 legislative elections. While stressing that he had no doubt that the NDP would remain the majority in the next parliament he warned that, "it would be a mistake for anyone to think that the elections will be easy." The ability of the NDP to maintain "its well deserved position as the majority party" depended, he continued, on the ability of its members to represent the will and demands of the people, especially the least advantaged. Better and more inclusive healthcare services were promised by Mubarak, as well as wider and more effective social security measures and better quality services. "In securing these we will be addressing human rights, not just in the political sense but in a socio-economic sense," he stated. The obvious vitality of the president in both his conference speeches answered at least one question: rumours about his health are quite clearly groundless.
