CAIRO - It was a hot afternoon when I hailed the first taxi that came into sight. It happened to be one of the sleek white taxis that debuted on Cairo's roads more than two years ago. As typical of Egyptian cabbies, the driver started by asking the ubiquitous question: “For whom will you be voting in the [presidential] runoffs?” My reply generated a debate currently gripping the Egyptians who are faced with choosing between the two polarising contenders: the Muslim Brotherhood's candidate Mohamed Morsi and ex-Army General Ahmed Shafiq, the last premier in Hosni Mubarak's rule. Reaching my destination, I looked at the metre and handed the cabbie the required fare. “LE5 more, please,” said the driver. Surprised, I answered: “But the meter says the fare is LE10.” “This fare would have been fair in normal circumstances, but I had to wait for a couple of hours earlier today outside a petrol station to get my tank refilled. Should I bear the loss alone? That would be unfair,” he argued. Friends of mine say they've found themselves in the same situation. Some of them sympathise with the ‘poor' drivers, while others refuse to pay an extra piastre to the ‘greedy' cabbies. In the past few days, an acute fuel shortage has hit Egypt; it's the third such petrol crisis in the past few months. Thirsty cars and lorries have been forming long queues at petrol stations as drivers holding jerry cans also line up to fill their containers, having to pay a higher price than usual. Scuffles have also been reported among scrambling, hot-tempered drivers. Meanwhile, local residents in some areas have been taking to the streets and blocking main roads in protest against a shortage of butane gas cylinders used for cooking. The Government has kept mum on the renewed crisis. Any official who dares break the silence either denies the problem altogether or blames it on other institutions. "The congestion at petrol stations does not mean there is a shortage," said Oil Minister Abdullah Ghurab. "There are 3,000 petrol stations around the country, that are working as usual," he claimed in press remarks. Meanwhile, the veteran Minister of International Co-operation, Fayza Abul Naga, has attributed the problem to "rumours". The situation has been made worse by electricity outages in an increasing number of areas nationwide. There is no good reason why the shortage has happened again. In the absence of an explanation, the conspiracy theory is gaining ground. Protesters, mainly Islamists, claim that the current crisis has been deliberately created to make Egyptians “yearn for the Mubarak days”. For the past 15 months, Egypt has seen an increase in crime rates, a lack of security and yet more price hikes. A drop in the votes secured by the Muslim Brotherhood's presidential contender in the first round is widely seen as a backlash against the group, who control nearly half of parliament. Many Egyptians are disappointed at parliament, which is largely perceived as having failed to improve public life. According to Islamists, the current state of public anger is the ideal environment for Ahmed Shafiq, the presidential Mubarak-era contestant, to appeal to the ‘exhausted' Egyptians. Shafiq has based his campaign on a vow to re-establish security “within 24 hours”. His success in securing a place in the runoffs has surprised political gurus, who believe that his focus on “restoring stability” has resonated with voters. Is the current fuel shortage a new electioneering tactic? Only the Army-backed Government can say.
