The political mobility now being seen in Egypt is a healthy phenomenon, much-needed by Egyptians for more than fifty years. It embodies the hopes of all patriotic citizens since 1952. However, such hopes were dimmed as the men who carried out the 1952 revolution monopolized power, established their dictatorship and rigged elections in order to remain in power for as long as possible. So far, rigging elections has secured their grip on power. Power proved to be pleasant as they found out that the road to it is easy and so is staying in power – until many interlocking factors led to the current state of mobility. The current state of political mobility is just starting and is restricted to the intellectual elite. The ruling party blocks communication between the elite and the people because it fears a popular uprising it cannot suppress; however, the desire for popular action persists, only occasionally poking its head out in fear, because nobody is ready yet to make sacrifices. However, the boiling pot will eventually explode one day, if the lid remains firmly closed. The elite have launched several initiatives in order to rid the country of its current state of affairs and the state of stagnation afflicting our internal and external policies, which have made Egypt an underdeveloped country although leaders of the NDP try to make it seem otherwise. There have been many such initiatives, the first of which was the Kefaya Movement, whose message to Mubarak was to leave power for someone who had something to give, after he had given everything he could. That is pure human nature. However, instead of listening to their demands, proponents of the regime came up with their own mottos demanding that the president stay in power to continue on the path – the path of ignorance, poverty, disease, unemployment and backwardness. Other initiatives were launched, each with its own group of important figures and respectable icons; however, these initiatives were disparate, large in number and disconnected from the masses – the masses that are the motivation and reason the initiatives exist. Then Mohamed Hassanein Heikal introduced his initiative, which was supported by some and slammed by others. Then some others called for a peaceful exit by the president. The thought behind this was that the president wants to relinquish power, but fears legal prosecution afterwards, and thus requires guarantees that his family will be safe upon stepping down. The president and his government are currently at their strongest. In fact, whoever listened to Ahmed Ezz, chair of the NDP secretariat in his speech at the last party convention, with his snobbish, threatening tone, realizes how potent the man feels. Ezz was reading from a paper, not improvising, but whether he had written the speech himself or it was written by someone else, his words cannot be considered a slip of the tongue – he meant what he said. He definitely does not want to take his words back, either. Although what he said was often contradictory, ironic and involved a lot of spin that can be easily refuted, we should not preoccupy ourselves with it. Let's just ask him one single question: If the NDP is so successful and popular, why would it rig the elections? The arguments by Ahmed Ezz and his colleagues suggest that the Egyptian people, and all the various sectors, like the party and hope that it remains in power. That accordingly means that the NDP will score a sweeping success in any upcoming elections without the need for governmental interference. So where is the need to fix the votes? Answering that question – if there is an answer at all – we will be able to tackle that issue later. The matter remaining for discussion concerns change, change that is called for by many sectors of society that target reform. These sectors, in fact, lack two important things. Firstly, they lack unity which lead to greater influence, and that was the motivation behind our gathering, "Egyptians for Free and Fair Elections". Acting as the coordinator for that group, I delivered a speech in which I said, "When we began thinking about that gathering, we had nothing in common except for being Egyptians who love their country and desire to elevate it to the highest position. Freedom is our only cause and Egypt's best interests are our target. We are ready to cooperate with any group that seeks true democracy, since we do not include people with selfish interests, or people who seek to gain specific benefits. Rather, we view the prosperity of the country as prosperity for the citizen. We are ready to give a hand to everyone seeking reform, because we all have a common goal, although our means of achieving it vary. I hereby invite all active powers and operative political gatherings working in this respect to unite into one entity, and to attain the power that is required in order to proceed and avoid disunity and weakness that gives our rivals the opportunity to undermine us.” Secondly, and more importantly, they lack contact with the people. Without being close to the people, the voices of such movements will be echoless and valueless. This has been undeniably true with recent movements, a fact frequently touted by the government. History has never shown us a movement that managed to improve the conditions of a country without the backing of a greater number of supporters who believe in its principles and work to implement them. By looking at these proposed initiatives, some people believe the president is in charge and that they should materialize with his blessing. Others see things differently. Those in the first category believe the president actually desires to see reform and that he supports it. In fact, all information points to the contrary and indicates that the president believes conditions cannot be better, and that the people should thank him and the government for the everlasting success they are enjoying. In fact, they should even pray that conditions remain unchangeable. The president also believes that the current situation may get worse, and the recent constitutional amendments to articles 76 and 88 confirmed this, by revoking judicial oversight and limiting presidential candidates to the president or his son. Supporting this fact, political analyst Hassan Nafaa said in an interview with “el-Dustour” newspaper on 28 October that President Mubarak still represents a type of bureaucratic employee. He was not involved in politics, when he was a student at the War Academy and even after he graduated. People only heard about him in the October 1973 war. People who were close to him said he was a disciplined officer who liked his job, but did not show any signs of geniality. He was not even known to be good at reading. What has this man had to offer over the last 30 years, including his former post as vice-president? This is unfair for him and for us too. If the presidency in Egypt is a real burden for its holder, the president would not have stayed in power over this long period. Rather, he enjoys the privileges of rule without bearing any of the burdens, and that is why he aspires to stay on as long as possible, and to enable his son after him, to ensure the future of his family. Therefore, the initiatives taking into account the president's presence at the helm of power, and his desire for change, cannot be implemented. This is because the president and his entourage are not willing to do so. This, however, does not mean that there should not be any attempts to provide new initiatives. For example, I support the initiative put forward by the prominent Egyptian journalists Mohamed Hassanein Heikal, although with a simple change in its implementation. I suggest that a group of Egyptian figures who enjoy the trust of the people and the government dialogue with the president behind closed doors, so as to not embarrass him. They will work to convince him of the necessity for reform and change, and of the need for a new constitution for the country that is drafted by Egypt's well-known experts in constitutional law. This will help the people achieve their desire for a change in power. I propose the following people for the group: Ahmed Kamal Abul Magd, Tharwat Badawi, Ibrahim Darweesh, Mahmud Atef el-Banna, Mohamed Selim el-Awa, Tarek el-Beshri and Yehya el-Gamal. Others with similar qualities could be added. Consequently, we could then embark on the path of peaceful reform and change and ensure a safe departure for the president. People will even remember that he ended his political life in a way that spared much torment and helped prevent bloodshed. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
