So it turns out that the widely reported comment I posted yesterday that Mohammed Elbaradei had been appointed Prime Minister is not true.
Given the high levels from which the reports were coming, including state TV, something fishy clearly happened here. That something appears to be that the main Salafist party, Al Nour, which has backed Morsi’s ouster despite its ideological distance from the Kemalist military and the left-liberal protestors, complained at the thought of Elbaradei taking the reins. Elbaradei is not only a secular liberal, but also has close ties to the West (from his past life as head of the IAEA), and is generally a nuisance and an asshat. I’m inclined to take their point on this issue. To be successful, this coup-revolution must not simply become an excuse for the most politically incompetent, least popular (some, including the Viking Dutchman, have long suspect Elbaradei’s tendency to boycott elections results from his fear of being proven to lack any real constituency if he actually competed) to be airlifted into power.
It is unclear whether Elbaradei was offered the position, and then had that offer taken back, or if the Salafist complaints preceded any official offer. At any rate, Al Nour are probably one of the most important actors for the new regime to keep on side, since they have a large popular base, and help bring some cross-ideological coverage to the transition. If they were to turn rejectionist and join the Morsi stalwarts, it would spell disaster for hopes of a democratic transition. The need to show Islamists they have a place in a truly democratic Egypt is vital, and will be the subject of an upcoming post.
The new rumor, which must be treated with approximately 1/3 of a cup of salt, is that the PM job has now been offered to Ziad Bahaa El-Din, a lawyer and founding member of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, one of the small left-liberal parties that emerged after the 2011 revolution. As such parties go, it has proven fairly competent, acquiring 16 seats in that year’s parliamentary election, more than the 14 won by its ally the Free Egyptians Party, who had drastically more money and press ahead of the election but which ultimately became a cipher for Copts (it’s leader is a Copt) and liberal-inclined members of the upper class.
It is also being suggested that Elbaradei will become Vice President.
But where is Sabahi? Where is Fotouh? Even Moussa?
Where are any of the opposition leaders who have actually demonstrated any ability to win real votes in a real election?
The Viking Dutchman 