Mohamed ElBaradei did not begin this new public outcry for political change with his personal ideologies and goals. Rather, the known electoral contender’s speeches brought to the public’s ears a suppressed topic in Egypt: the complete absence of an alternative to President Mubarak. Now this opened public discussion does not focus on ElBaradei as the only candidate, but points out dozens of other figures worthy for the job.
In fact, ElBaradei has not said anything new since he first appeared on the Egyptian political scene. We the Egyptian people have shouted even harsher accusations at the regime, and put forward the same demands at seminars long before he did. We have rejected oppression, demanded more political mobility, and appealed for better human rights more than ElBaradei has ever done in his speeches and Twitter messages.
However, we had hoped that ElBaradei would have more vigor in his pursuit of fair political representation. Instead, he has just joined the ongoing political debates with stagnation, as if he were participating in dry seminars or conferences about political conditions in Egypt. ElBaradei embodied our hopes, so we expected him to lead all those initiatives and discussions and to formulate concrete plans for action.
We did not want ElBaradei to compete with us over what we do best as writers as much as we wanted him to demonstrate a new style of professional organization and a better form of political practice. We wanted him to lead his association and supporters rather than be led by them. We wanted him to take us as seriously as we took him when we received him at the Cairo International Airport.
I don’t know why it is that I felt that ElBaradei is still clueless after I read the news about his meeting with members from the Muslim Brotherhood. He appears to be taking one step forward and two steps back. I have a feeling that he is missing out on opportunities to present himself as a genuine alternative to the current president.
What progressive, politically-active Egyptians are looking for is a figure with a certain approach, level of performance, and technique. However, ElBaradei has so far failed to present a detailed platform and market it successfully, while simultaneously failing in pushing for the amendment of the Constitution and the reform of the election system, continuing with his signature-gathering campaign–one which I doubt will have impact when I take into consideration the conditions in Egypt.
We thought ElBaradei was going to freshly lead us forward, as someone who has come from a more organized political environment. To our disappointment, however, ElBaradei is using obsolete progressive techniques. We were under the false impression that the man was going to develop our methods of opposition, but were surprised to find him being led by our traditional opposition. So my question is: Who is taking the lead, ElBaradei or those around him?
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
