Wishful thinking is not always helpful. Sometimes it is the only way of escaping from the harsh realities of life and seeing a better future for oneself or for one's country. In such cases, wishful thinking can be a helpful release. Sometimes, though, wishful thinking can merely distract from what is real, because it is easier to do so. Doing is always better than just talking. Over the last year or so, the world's media have encouraged us all to indulge in wishful thinking, asking which of the Arab leaders would be next to fall. We see it now most clearly in Syria. Responding to what had happened in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt, the world's media decided early on that the Syrian regime needed to be removed and they encouraged us all to believe that it would happen quickly. Six months ago, they told us that it was only a matter of weeks or months before the regime fell. In this context of wishful thinking, then, we can place the unrealistic hopes of Egyptians that the election of a President will solve all their problems. It won't. Following the leader has always been the Egyptian way. In the times when Egypt has not been occupied by foreign countries, the system of government has been in the hands of one man. Sultans, Khedives, Kings and Presidents have held unlimited power. Their title may have changed from time to time, but their power remained the same. Anyone who challenged that power was quickly disposed of. In recent decades, when pretence at democracy was offered, the people were asked to vote for the one candidate available. President Sadat took office because his predecessor had chosen him. When he died, his chosen successor took over. It was a royal succession in everything but name. And what were the fruits of this system of government? We see it everywhere today. Backwardness became the norm. One man may be able to rule a small community effectively, but it is much more difficult in a country of millions. When he sailed out of Alexandria harbour in 1952 and left Egypt for ever, King Faroukh famously told Mohamed Naguib that Egypt is a difficult country to rule. One man can't do everything. It is inevitable, no matter how good that man might be or how noble his motives might be in the beginning, that absolute power will change him for the worse. Surrounded by cronies, such a man ends up living in a fantasy world, unaware of reality and believing that the people worship the very ground he walks on. The youthful Colonel Gaddafi turned into a tyrant who believed every word he spoke. Egypt's future is now very closely bound up with the man who will take office as its next President, whoever that will be. Therein lies the problem. People are hoping for a strong man at the helm who will guide the nation with wisdom and provide security once more for their families. Such a man, they insist, will improve the economy, secure the nation's borders, give out food for the poor and solve Cairo's traffic problems. He might also be able to provide a wife and a flat for the millions of Egyptian young men who do not have the means to achieve this themselves. The revolution which swept the former regime from power was a revolution , initially, of young people. There were elements in that group who were very well organised and knew exactly what they wanted, but on the whole the revolution was without leaders. It was a spontaneous protest which grew and grew, attracting more and more support as the achievement of its one goal seemed more and more likely. The goal was the removal of the President. Beyond that, ideas of freedom, dignity and social justice hovered in the background as something that would inevitably come once the President was removed. Very quickly, though, the aims of the revolution were kidnapped. Those who eventually removed the President from power had no desire to see the whole existing social order change. What need did they have of a flat or a job? Indeed, their own self-interest necessitated that the status quo should remain unchallenged. Very quickly, a process was set in motion that would once more see one man leading the country. People were led to believe that their aims and aspirations were being best served by such a transition. Those who planned what the future would look like even made it seem that their procrastination in ensuring a quick transfer to civilian rule was a plan to thwart the will of the people. The plan all along was to put one man back on the throne, preferably the man most acceptable to those in control. Earlier this month, we saw the disqualification of some of the more popular candidates for the presidency. In one case we even saw the disqualification of one candidate because he did not submit enough names to support his candidacy. Quite how the former head of Egypt's Intelligence Services could make such an obvious mistake quite beggars belief. It suggests more a deliberate plan. However, his disqualification made the banning of the other candidates seem more balanced and just. No one could blame the Electoral Commission for being biased if it disqualified candidates across the board! So what are we left with? With the Islamist bloc in open disagreement with one another, we are left with yesterday's men poised to return. If that happens it would seem that the long term plan of maintaining the status quo has been achieved and that those who kidnapped the revolution have had their way. How wrong they would be in thinking that way. Whoever is elected next month will have an impossible task ahead of him, but even that is not the most important thing. The important thing is that nothing in Egypt will ever be the same again after January 25. The institutions of the State may remain unchanged and the men of yesterday may once more seem to have taken control, but Egypt is a different country to the Egyptians before January 25. In the hearts of millions of people, everything has changed. It will take many more years for Egyptians to see that their best interests lie in a parliamentary democracy. Egypt's future will not lie in the hands of a sultan, a khedive, a king or even a president. Those days have gone for ever. The blood of too many people has made that the new reality. It will take time, but freedom, dignity and social justice will be achieved. There is no going back to the past. British Muslim writer, Idris Tawfiq, is a lecturer at Al-Azhar University . The author of eight books about Islam, he divides his time between Egypt and the UK as a speaker, writer and broadcaster. You can visit his website at www.idristawfiq.com.
