Nearly ten months since his last public appearance, the ousted president, Hosni Mubarak, showed up at the weekend, looking to be in the rudest of good health. He appeared at the opening of his retrial, waving to his supporters from the defendants' cage, belying all the media reports about his frail health. Mubarak, 84, struck a confident note as he flashed a broad smile, in stark contrast to his arrival for his historic trial in August 2011. At the time, he looked a broken, old man, indifferent to the fact that he was the first Egyptian ruler ever to be put on trial. On Saturday, Mubarak looked different, seeking to send home a message which must not go unheeded. More than two years since his overthrow, Mubarak's high morale has obviously been boosted by the political and socio-economic upheaval in Egypt. In the final years of his rule, Mubarak used to warn that his ‘disappearance' would lead to chaos. Mubarak and his loyalists, as the courtroom scene showed on Saturday, must be happy that his warning has become a stark reality. Increasing numbers of Egyptians, who suffered under Mubarak's oligarchy and autocracy, now admit they miss his days. "At least we had security and food on our tables," they say. This lamentation demonstrates that something has gone grossly wrong in post-revolt Egypt. With the national economy on the skids, unemployment and inflation rates are on the rise. Lack of security and increasing crime rates have taken their toll on tourism and investment. The country is in the grip of a severe economic crisis amid an unchecked slide in foreign reserves. Even so, the ruling Muslim Brotherhood, oppressed under Mubarak, look bent on hastily tightening their hold on power and dismissing their critics as remnants of the Mubarak regime. President Mohamed Morsi has failed to keep many of the promises he dished out during his election campaign, mainly to be an inclusive president for all Egyptians. His disappointing handling of sectarian violence is the latest sign. Ten months into office, Morsi has alienated the judiciary, the media, Christians and a sizeable segment of his voters. The mostly secular opposition, meanwhile, appear ineffectual and out of touch with the street. For months, the Islamists and the opposition have been locked in a violent dispute, amounting to a power struggle. Both sides seem oblivious to the mounting woes in almost every walk of life. Mubarak's confident posture in the dock should prompt both the Brotherhood and the opposition to take stock of their blunders, which have dashed the people's hopes for creating a better Egypt.
