President gives strong indication that he intends to remain in power for some time yet CAIRO: President Hosni Mubarak won't step down and it is not clear whether the planned constitutional amendments will allow more candidates a fair chance to run in presidential elections. I will carry on with you, crossing to the future, shouldering the responsibility, as long as my heart is beating and I m breathing, Mubarak said during the parliamentary opening session on Sunday. While the statement confirmed the president's intent on staying in power for the current term, it didn't rule out the potential succession of his son Gamal. It did, however, survey constitutional reforms with a mention of the election-related Article 76. But, the uncertainty that marked the few days before Mubarak's speech still prevails. Although he started his speech focusing on constitutional amendments, he didn't delve into details. Political analyst Amr Hashem wasn't surprised by the president's approach although earlier speculations had implied that the president would provide more details on how the reforms would be enacted. "It's the president's technique, Hashem said, explaining that Mubarak would "surprise the country with "last minute changes to catch the opposition unprepared with little time to respond. Hashem also attributed this obscurity to possible minor disputes inside the National Democratic Party (NDP) regarding the details of the constitutional articles subject to change. He believes the party members have yet to finalize their amended version of the articles. His reference to the much-contested Article 76, which in its current form impedes presidential candidates from outside the NDP, wasn't clear. He only said the new amendments will move in the same direction as last year's changes, which paved the way for the first multi-candidate presidential elections. Hashem said most of the amendments the president surveyed focused on economic reform, "but we want political changes. In spite of the uncertainty as to the nature of the amendments, Hashem doesn't think they will be effective, not even in quantity. Only 20 to 40 articles are expected to change, much less than what opposition groups have been calling for, he explained. The president did, however, urge economic development, reformed relations between legislative and executive authorities, better performance of political parties, increased female participation in parliament and achievement of decentralization. Ahmed Bahaa Shabaan from the Kefaya movement dismissed the speech as empty rhetoric and said the only new point was the possibility that the president's latest comments affected the handing of power to his son, Gamal. "His statement about staying is new. Previously it was thought that power would be handed to his son Gamal, but now it seems that he intends to stay until 2011, Shabaan told The Daily Star Egypt. Yet in general the speech left Shabaan unmoved. He said, "It's just a regurgitation of old promises first given in the presidential elections and these promises will not be fulfilled. They are just a waste of time and further opportunities. Shabaan added that this has been the case for a quarter of a century. "We've heard so much over the last 25 years and we have stopped believing what is being said. An example was the promise that no journalists would be imprisoned, which turned out to be untrue. It's just empty words with no value, and Mubarak will continue to rule the country with an iron fist. Yousef Sidhom of Al-Watani newspaper deviated slightly from this sentiment, saying that the president is the only one with the power to affect any sort of change in the reform process. "When the NDP talks about reform, I don't listen, he told The Daily Star Egypt, "because there is only one person who controls reform and that is Mubarak himself. If he says something is going to happen, such as the amendment of article 76 then it will. As for the entire speech and Mubarak's "heart-beating statement, Sidhom told The Daily Star Egypt, "The speech is great reading from the catalogue of nation building. Let's see them do it. The opposition will say to Mubarak we want your heart beating as well, but not as our ruler. Opposition Wafd party member Mounir Fakhry Abdel-Nour believes the president is "trying to stir up emotion, but I don't want to apply too much constitutional significance to the statement. I don't think it means that there will not be an amendment to article 77, Abdel-Nour said. Abdel-Nour believes the more pertinent line from the speech was the one in which Mubarak says he will not rush reforms out of fear. "This has raised questions, Abdel-Nour said. "Does this mean that he will take his time in reform? Or does it mean we will return to the era of reform by doses, which might diminish the number of amendments made? Discrepancies and confusion, however, are likely to be clarified by Dec. 15, when the amendments are handed to parliament. In the meantime, the opposition will be bristling. I won t waver or be shaken ... I don t accept any pressure and I kneel only before God, Mubarak said in his speech.
