Outgoing Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa will rely on members of the previously-ruling National Demorcatic Party (NDP) to help in his bid for Egypt's presidency, said Adel al-Maghrabi, the director of his media campaign. During a Monday seminar in Alexandria, al-Maghrabi said that Moussa will select members of his campaign carefully. "Moussa will only accept the good NDP members. Some people were forced to sign their membership applications. Others joined the party to serve their interests, while others did not even recognize they had signed those applications. After all, they are all Egyptians," al-Maghrabi said. Moussa has lately faced scathing popular criticism, including accusations of being affiliated to the regime of toppled President Hosni Mubarak. He served as Egypt's foreign minister from 1991 utill 2001, when he was named Arab League Secretary General. His term ends on 15 May. Al-Maghrabi added that Egypt's presidency requires a "diplomatic juggler who knows how to play others, preserve the rights and interests of Egypt, and who is aware of the points of strength and weakness of Arab and African leaders." He said Moussa's platform has not yet been announced, noting that it will be declared as soon as nominations are opened. Al-Maghrabi added that the platform will emerge from the people to the leadership, and not vice versa, adding that Moussa has pledged to make only realistic promises regarding what he can achieve within the four years of the presidential term. Though the new constitutional amendments allow the president to run for a second four-year term, Moussa has vowed not to run for a second time if elected president.
