CAIRO: The ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) began its 6th annual three-day conference in Cairo on Saturday under the title “Just For You,” which included an opening speech from President Hosni Mubarak to a crowd of 2,500 NPD party members and media. The title has raised questions among Egyptians, who are asking the question “just for who?” Mubarak was keen in his speech to highlight the important role younger NDP members play as well as addressing popular issues that have taken center stage in Egypt in recent months, such as health care, education, transportation and important domestic reforms that have been promised, along with a pledge that polls will be free, fair and competitive. Many Egyptians however may feel current economic reforms have benefited big business rather than workers, as there have been many recent protests this year concerning salary issues and the rights of workers throughout Egypt. Also the favorite hot potato of who will succeed Mubarak (81) was avoided with Safwat el-Sherif, NDP Secretary General, saying nominations for the presidency will not be discussed. Gamal Mubarak, tipped as possible candidate to run in the 2011 presidential elections gave a speech to the conference on Sunday attacking opposition groups that have launched a campaign against his possible accession to power. He claimed the opposition simply wanted to “create a negative mental image of the (NDP) party†by insisting the elder Mubarak wanted to pass power onto his son. “The problems of all Egyptians are the priorities of our party,” said the younger Mubarak. “The political activities and actions of the NDP are working at the local level, to the benefit of the villages, the families and the hard-working people of Egypt. Their needs are for more jobs, better schools, improved health care and greater access to basic infrastructure — and that is what our party is working to provide.” The NDP has said it started its annual conferences in 2003 to present to the Egyptian public policies designed to tackle issues which are broadcasted on TV and radio as well as maintaining its own website. A senior political analyst at Al-Ahram has countered this claim and said the main reason for the founding of the annual conferences was to insert Gamal into the public eye as a capable politician and to cement his place in the NDP and bring legitimacy to a future bid for President. Gamal was appointed chairman of the highly influential NDP policies committee in 2002, the third most powerful role in government after the Prime Minister and has used his position to secure top positions for his colleagues in the Egyptian Center for Economic Studies (ECES) a think tank established in the mid 1990′s created to make policy on neo-liberal economic reform. The NDP continues to dominate Egyptian politics and while the NDP is a party within the government, many Egyptians do not distinguish between the two. Telling is an article posted on the NDP’s conference website by Youssef Wardany, where he states, “the Government [sic] adopts the policies of the party.†BM
