Egypt's newly-appointed Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq on Friday ruled out the possibility that President Hosni Mubarak would hand over power to Vice-President Omar Suleiman, as had been proposed by opposition figures and the so-called "Committee of Wise Men." He described Mubarak as the country's "safety valve" in the coming period. Shafiq told Al-Arabiya news agency that Mubarak's presence was required for legislative reasons. "This matter doesn't require that Mubarak step down now,” Shafiq said. “He said that he would go in September. Five months won't make a difference.” “Mubarak did more good than bad in his 30 years in power,” Shafiq said, adding that the young people who had demonstrated since 25 January had realized many of their demands. He claimed that the government was in the process of negotiating those demands with protest leaders. “We agree on certain points and disagree on others,” he said. “But it won't be long before we will have resolved them, given that both parties are willing to make compromises.” Since 25 January, Egypt has witnessed mass demonstrations calling on Mubarak to step down after 30 years in power.
