Dr. Said Al-Naggar died accused of wanting to be prime minister, as if this was a charge. Had it happened, we would have now been doing much better. But it seems he was not seeking any official post, as he had reached top international positions that were more important. Yet he had a vision to save his country. So he died frustrated, and left the country searching for someone else to save it. And there was Dr. Ibrahim Shehata, who put his vision for reform in a book entitled ‘My will for my country'. But he also died, and his will was never read. If any official just took some time to read that will, he would find in it a whole constitution for reform that would not cost us anything, but would rather take us to a better quality of living than the misery in which we live now.
You cannot help thinking that this is a jinxed country because it does not listen to such fine men as Naggar and Shehata, and because it thwarts any attempt for reform. Farid Zakaria, editor of the international edition of Newsweek, hosted three guests in his talk show on CNN. The first is a Nobel Prize Laureate in Economics in 2001, the second got the same prize in 2006, and the third is a director of a reputable research center. They were talking about how the economic crisis brought down Obama's popularity from 80% when he took office a month ago to 67% these days, and how it spread terror in the financial market. Every time I watch Zakaria I remember Dr. Abdel Moneim Said, perhaps for their common ability to manage a serious and exciting dialogue. I had suggested to Dr. Amr Abdel Samie to run an open dialogue on the financial crisis in general and on the issue of the title deeds in particular. And I suggest that he should host guests like Dr. Galal Amin, Dr. Ahmed Galal, Dr. Heba Handoussa and Dr. Hazim Biblawi. They can be useful to the country with their visions that are away from any political considerations.
