CAIRO - After a short pause for rejoicing over Mohamed Morsi's overthrow, Egypt's politicians have relapsed to their crippling infighting. The wrangling is reminiscent of the political upheaval that followed the 2011 ouster of Hosni Mubarak. At the time, each political faction came out to stake claim to the revolt and brand others as intruders or even traitors. The same is happening now, pushing Egypt back to square once and diminishing prospects for a smooth, inclusive transition to a democratic rule. Days after Morsi's toppling, the nation's political divide has widened. Two main issues have proved divisive: the creation of an interim government and a roadmap issued by caretaker President Adli Mansour. Now casting itself as a heir to the Muslim Brotherhood, the ultra-orthodox Salafist party Al Nour dampened post-Morsi enthusiasm by objecting to the nominations of at least two liberal politicians as prime minister. Al Nour, which backed the army's ouster of Morsi, first opposed giving the post to the prominent reformist and Nobel laureate Mohamed ElBaradei. And when ElBaradei, known as the "icon of the revolution", was dropped in favour of economist Ziad Baha Eddin, Al Nour lifted its finger again. The position has eventually gone to acclaimed economist Hazem el-Bebalwi, a former finance minister. Liberal groups got their share of hair-splitting as well. Hardly had Mansour unveiled a temporary constitution governing the transitional period when several groups fired their barbs at the charter. One group criticised it allegedly for giving the interim president absolute powers. A second dismissed it, saying the roadmap is vaguely worded and dictated by the military. A third claimed the document, which includes amending a controversial Islamist-drafted constitution and holding parliamentary and presidential elections, came as a reward to the Salafists. Many politicians and their followers have ominously failed to grasp the delicate phase being experienced by Egypt amid all this political turmoil and economic malaise. Each is determined to foist his agenda. The military-backed roadmap may not be ideal and faultless. Still, it clearly shows that the new transitional period will not be longer than nine months. (A badly managed transitional period by the military, who took over after Mubarak for 16 months, proved disastrous for Egypt.) The current roadmap defines the path to the presidential polls, which were a key demand made by millions of Egyptians who took to the streets on June 30 to push for an end to Morsi's rule. Obsession with details and conflicting concepts has been Egypt's formula for political squabbling for almost three years now. The renewed political infighting threatens to dash hopes for a swift and thoughtful transition. Equally important, the dispute means more economic deterioration in a country where poverty rates have reached 25.2 per cent of Egypt's 84 million population while unemployment has risen to 13.3 per cent of the country's workforce, according to official figures. Security breakdown remains a serious problem. The world reaction, mainly from the oil-wealthy Gulf region, in the past week has reflected interest in helping Egypt get off the economic hook. Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait have pledged 12 billion dollars in aid packages. Egyptians, in contrast, continue to bog down in political tussles. They appear unready to help themselves, labouring under the impression that they can stage a revolution as they like. It's true that for the first time in its history, Egypt has two former presidents (Mubarak and Morsi) brought down through popular uprisings. Yet, the real challenge facing Egyptians is to make such revolts work on the ground and bring about genuine changes.
