CAIRO - The first thing Talaat el-Sadat did as he accepted to jump into the sinking boat of the National Democratic Party (NDP), the party that monopolised Egypt's domestic politics for the past 30 years, was to rename the party as the New National Party. And, when he showed up at an office of the troubled party on Wednesday to meet hundreds of members in his capacity as the party's new chief, el-Sadat, a lawyer, a former legislator and the nephew of Egypt's late president Anwar el-Sadat, intentionally kept repeating the word "new" every now and then. "Let's forget the past and make a new beginning. Our new role will be to balance Egypt's new political life after the revolution. The New National Party is most capable of redressing the new political balance in Egypt," el-Sadat said amid cheers from his supporters, some of them came from places as far as the governorate of Sharqia in the Nile Delta. He was standing on the podium in the Heliopolis premises of what used to be the National Democratic Party. Almost six years ago, Gamal Mubarak, the son of the ousted Egyptian president who was rumoured to have planned a dynastic rule here, stood in the same place and talked about the achievements his father made over 24 years of rule and the plans he had for the welfare of Egypt and its people. "We started political reform a long time ago," he said at the time as part of his father's presidential campaign in 2005. "Our economic reform programmes are bearing fruit and the people will reap these fruits soon." Egyptians, however, waited and waited to reap the promised fruits, but got nothing. They then rose in anger against the ruling coterie who could give them nothing but empty promises, including Mubarak, now detained for 15 days pending a further probe on charges of political and financial corruption. Now, one of the former president's fiercest critics is taking his place at the helm of the party and is being deemed as the rescuer from the turbulent waves of change that have overwhelmed this country since the people rose in anger against Mubarak on January 25. "We must launch our own revolution against corruption inside our party," said Mohamed Ragab, the party's secretary general. "This party is not about people, but about policies and thoughts and these are things that will last. I think the mental image formed about our party is still good," he added. He too was celebrated as a man of principles by the seated party members and supporters. He said the New National Party would change its organisational methods, hold elections to choose its leaders from bottom to top and also choose "honest" candidates to represent it in the next parliamentary elections, due to be held in September. But if he had moved a few steps outside the packed room where he was addressing his like-minded party colleagues, Ragab might have discovered some facts about the mental image formed about the party. "I still cannot trust this party," said Yehia Mohssen, a 42-year-old accountant who was passing by the party at this moment by chance. "It is totally corrupt and I have no confidence that it can change in the future," he told The Gazette in an interview. Another passer-by did not even try to stop for a minute to know why this large crowd was gathering inside the party headquarters, which stands in close proximity to his home. "Do you still have hope?" the man asked as he pointed with his right hand at the party premises. "Hope" was actually the only thing el-Sadat was talking about inside. He had hoped that the New National Party would manage to win a majority of seats in the next parliamentary elections. "The New National Party must lead, it cannot be led," he said. "This is a party for all Egyptians: the poor and the rich, women and men, and farmers and workers.” A relative of his, Effat el-Sadat, who also attended this meeting and carried out some organisational tasks from shaking hands with party members to providing chairs for the media and the supporters, said he was mindful that the mission of the new chief of the party would not be easy. "I know we have a huge responsibility and challenges ahead," Effat said. "But I think we are up to it," he added.
