National Party members were also leaders in the Socialist Union and ministers departed from the Pioneering and Youth Organizations, according to Abdel Ghafar Shokr's study. Sadat attempted to establish a market economy but held onto his political and bureaucratic regime. The free trade economy evolved into a culture of chaotic importing causing the agriculture and infrastructure sectors to splinter and weaken. Sadat's regime ended with severe economic problems. The growth rate increased due to worker remittances, according to Gala Amin's study. Sadat faced strong opposition in the protests on January 18 and 19 in 1977, after he raised the price of bread and other staples before returning them back to the original price. Sadat was angry after these protests, which he called the “Thieves' protest,” but what his opponents called the “National Protest.” Sadat's most controversial and, ultimately, fatal, decision was to visit Israel to sign the Camp David Peace Treaty, convened under the auspices of the American government. This decision changed the nature of geo-politics in the region and led to Syria, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Palestine severing relations with Egypt. The Refusal Front as a result launched a media war against Sadat. Sadat gave the multiple party system a chance after the October War and the era of free trade. He divided the Socialist Union into different operations in 1976. The three main forums, the Right, the Left and the Middle, were changed in 1977 to El Ahrar, El Tagammu (later al-Wafd) and Egpyt Party, respectively. Sadat formed the National Democratic Party in 1978. During the same year, the Socialist Work Party formed, headed by the former Minister of Agriculture Ibrahim Shokry. While Sadat believed the Socialist union would throw their support behind him, Shokry instead chose to join Sadat's opponents. Sadat advised Mahmoud Salem to construct the party's organization like the Muslim Brotherhood and like Hassan El Banna's party. He also wanted the headquarters of the party to be in a rural location so that members would interact and discuss problems on the ground. Sadat chose Mansour Hassan to establish a policies committee and include members from outside the party. But Hassan clashed with both the general secretary and the chairman of the party, and then subsequently disappeared from political life. Sadat was disappointed in the Marxists, said Mosa Sabry, as he wanted them to form a legal party. He thought that they were engaged in secret meetings and organizations, and Sadat claimed that the political life affects all people, and the only difference is the way in which this is accomplished. Sadt claimed that people must believe in democracy for it to work, adding that democracy can be fiercer than dictatorship citing the Muslim Brotherhood's criticisms of him in El Dawa and El Etesam Magazines as examples. Sadat then began a campaign of censorship of political parties as well as cultural events and Egyptian artists. Mosques began to attack Sadat and sectarian clashes erupted in El Zawya El Hamra. The president found himself facing down various enemies – political problems that, in some part, were the result of his strategies, like giving freedom of speech to the Brotherhood. Sadat went on the offensive striking back at Mohamed Hassaneed Heikal for his attacks on the president in the foreign press. He then dismissed Heikal from his position at Al-Ahram Newspaper. He also went after Foad Serag El Din, calling him “Louis the Sixteenth.” Sadat mistakenly believed that opposition forces would ultimately support his and was enraged when he received criticisms, particularly from Islamist groups. Sadat's downward spiral ended with his assassination – carried out by his supporters the El Gehad Group Afterward, Mubarak tried to garner sympathy from opposition parties as he also attempted to maintain relations between Egypt and Arab countries. Hosni Mubarak reinstituted El Shaab and El Ahaly newspapers and he received all opposition leaders, authors, intellectuals and politicians who were imprisoned under Sadat in the Presidential Palace. Mubarak met with Foad Serag El Din, Mohamed Hassaneed Heikal, Mohamed Helmy Morad as well as Egyptian thinker Fathy Radwan. In November 1981, Mubarak freed all of Sadat's political prisoners from September 5, 1981. Fathy Radwan was a politician jailed by King Farouk and he returned to political life to form the new National Party in honor of Mostafa Kamel. After meeting Mubarak, Radwan told one of his students that he was concerned about the fate of Egypt, adding that Mubarak was more interested in joking than in maintaining Egypt's political and national affairs. Radwan was against Mubarak until his demise, though many claim that Mubarak is a levelheaded and calm person. Radwan joined the El Shaab Newspaper and participated in partisan conferences during the first few years of Mubarak's reign. The partisan newspapers attacked Mubarak but remained within the confines of freedom of expression laws. Ibrahim Shokry runs el Shaab Newspaper and El Ahaly is run by El Tagammu Party, a political force comprised of, among others, Marxists and Nasserites. These papers began publishing reports about Sadat's corruption. Mubarak was enthusiastic about financial reform, but did little to change institutional policy or personnel.
