Close up: Wrong answer Salama A Salama Hardly a day passes without the international press discussing Egypt's uncertain future or questioning the president's health and ability to govern. Israel is getting into this game, using it to cast doubt on the future of peace in the region. Why make concessions, Israeli politicians argue, when there is no certainty on the future of peace and security cooperation with Egypt? The whole thing is messy and disturbing. And yet the leaders of the National Democratic Party (NDP) do not seem to understand the damage they are doing by keeping the facts from the country. When they respond to rumours, they offer answers that show that they are clueless about the psyche of the Egyptian people, if not outright indifferent about the country's standing in international circles. All this is playing into Israel's hands. The Israelis are using the uncertainty in Egypt to pressure the Palestinians into holding direct talks. And Europe is leaning towards Israel's views on the matter. The NDP's information spokesman recently said that it was "impolite" to discuss the party's candidate for the next presidential elections in 2011. Why? Because Mubarak is still in office. The spokesman said that no one had asked El-Baradei to join the NDP, and that "crashing the party" was out of the question. The rudeness of this remark leaves me gasping. This was at a time when the NDP should have been talking straightforwardly. It was at a time when it should have been telling us why it is so opposed to any amendment to the constitution. The demand for constitutional change does not come from El-Baradei alone. Rather, it has repeatedly been made by the opposition parties and indeed by a significant part of the population. The NDP information spokesman wants us to keep our mouths shut. The president is in good health, and we should not be asking too many questions about how he feels or his ability to rule. What the NDP doesn't seem to understand is that the president's current term in office ends in a year's time. Therefore, it is the right of the president, and anyone who meets certain conditions, to run for the job. It is also the right of the people not to be left in the dark. The public needs to know who the candidates are, information that would have the magical ability to end the speculation. It is quite alright for the public to ask if the president wants to run for office, or has another candidate in mind. Asking about the president's intentions is a legitimate move and one that is common in democracies that are better than ours. This type of question is not provocative. It deserves a proper answer, not a contemptuous one. Many government officials are vague about the presidential elections, as well as about other essential questions. They hide the facts, conceal information, and mislead the public. I have no idea why. Take, for example, the case of the governor of North Sinai. A few days ago, he gave a long interview to the newspaper Al-Shorouk, claiming that Sinai Bedouin were working for Israel and their chiefs were accepting bribes. Then he contradicted himself by claiming that the recent unrest was caused by five or six wanted men. It was a strange interview, and the following day the governor retracted most of what he had said. This is unacceptable. Either he was telling the truth the first time round, in which case he should not be able simply to decide to conceal it again. Or he wasn't, which is worse. What I am saying is that uncertainty is killing us, and much of it is the doing of our officials, especially those from the NDP.
