The cabinet led by Prime Minister Kamal al-Ganzouri will be dismissed within a few hours, according to a phone call People's Assembly Speaker Saad al-Katatny received from a member of the ruling military council informing him of the decision. Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, the head Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, made the decision, according to the SCAF member on the phone. Ganzouri will be tasked with forming a new caretaker government and reshuffling the cabinet to replace ministers who have recently quarreled with Parliament, according to Katatny's account of the phone call. Katatny's comments came during a meeting with his deputies who opposed his earlier decision to suspend parliamentary sessions until 6 May in protest of Ganzouri's government. Katatny also said the council member told him the SCAF would issue a statement praising Parliament's performance. Al-Masry Al-Youm had also been informed by its own sources that the military council will dismiss the government and change four ministers. The standoff between Parliament and the cabinet has been ongoing for weeks, with the parliamentary Islamist majority repeatedly calling for the government to resign given its poor performance, especially in with regard to the economy and security. However, the Constitutional Declaration designed by the SCAF and passed in March of last year does not give Parliament the authority to sack the government, which has been a matter of contention for Islamists who sense they took over a disempowered legislature. Earlier today, Katatny vowed to suspend parliamentary sessions until next Sunday to prompt the government to resign, a move rejected by many MPs. Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
