There are signs of a crisis between Mohamed ElBaradei, former chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency and potential candidate in the upcoming presidential election, and members of the National Association of Change (NAC) after the association failed to convince ElBaradei to reduce his travel outside of Egypt and remain in Cairo. A meeting held two days ago at Mohamed Abul Ghar's office in downtown Cairo failed to achieve agreement between ElBaradei, Hassan Nafaa, the NAC's coordinator, Alaa el-Aswani and other members of the NAC, said an informed source from the NAC. Commenting on that meeting, Hamdi Qandil, a media professional and member of the NAC, said he had predicted that the meeting was going to be fruitless. Members of NAC committees continue to reassure ElBaradei that they are in contact with the people, but in reality they are not, added Qandil. Qandil said he told ElBaradei more than once that he should stay in Egypt, but that ElBaradei did not seem to be convinced because he has things to do outside Egypt. "ElBaradei's presence in Egypt is crucial for the NAC and its existence in the Egyptian street," said Quandil. Qandil also revealed that he, Nafaa, el-Aswani, Abul Ghar and Mahmoud el-Khodeiri will meet on Wednesday before meeting again with ElBaradei on Thursday. "The group may reach a collective decision on Wednesday," he added. The meeting held two days ago discussed the weaknesses of the NAC over the past period, including the low level of participation, negligence on the part of some leaders, and the small number of the NAC offices throughout Egypt. Meanwhile, George Ishaq, who is in charge of the NAC's file for the governorates, said "ElBaradei is a symbol for those who have adopted the call for change." He continued: "Those calls cannot be linked to whether or not ElBaradei is in Egypt." Translated from the Arabic Edition.
