Pope Shenouda III has expressed willingness to nominate four Coptic figures to ministerial positions in a new government formed by the Freedom and Justice Party if such a government comes to fruition, a church source told Al-Masry Al-Youm on Friday. The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that “the Church thinks that the group has the full right to form the government on the condition that it will be representative of all communities in the society.” Brotherhood Deputy Supreme Guide Khairat al-Shater said Wednesday that the Brotherhood's political arm the Freedom and Justice Party is ready to form a coalition government in place of the current government headed by Prime Minister Kamal al-Ganzouri. The idea has gathered political support in the past days, but according to the interim constitution issued by the ruling military council last March, the only authority capable of dismissing and forming a cabinet during the transitional period is the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) itself. A military source told Al-Masry Al-Youm Friday that the SCAF does not plan to dismiss Ganzouri, and that the cabinet will stay in place until the military council hands power over to civilians by the end of June. On Thursday, the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, a founding member of the Egyptian Bloc electoral list, welcomed the Freedom and Justice Party's proposal to form a national salvation cabinet. The leftist party said in a statement that it rejects the Ganzouri cabinet for “failing to achieve security for citizens, and for being responsible for the massacre in Port Said,” in reference to violence in the city's football stadium last week that left over 71 dead and hundreds injured. Many Egyptians have attributed the violence to an intentional security negligence or incitement on the part of security forces.
