Less than a week after touting the independence of the Cabinet and state institutions, the Freedom and Justice Party is jockeying for places in an impending Cabinet reshuffle.
The party had initially nominated eight ministers, but eventually settled for three: Bassem Ouda, chairman of the party’s committee on energy, for the post of petroleum minister, Abdallah Shehata, chairman of the economic committee, for finance minister and Reda Agag, the president’s adviser for commodity supply, for minister of supply and social affairs, according to an anonymous party source.
The same FJP source expected the reshuffle to be announced within hours, and also said non-party member Hafez Salmawy, the director of the Electric Utility Regulatory and Consumer Protection Authority, would be tapped for minister of electricity.
Party leader Ahmed Ibrahim said the FJP seeks to put its members atop the ministries of local development, economic development, supply, and petroleum.
“Finance Minister Momtaz al-Saeed wants to quit for health reasons,” Ibrahim said, although Saeed has denied this on several occasions.
Amid much speculation on the reshuffle, Prime Minister Hesham Qandil said Sunday he was coordinating with President Mohamed Morsy to form a new Cabinet. He did not say whether that would include his own replacement, although anonymous FJP sources also said Sunday party has nominated Muslim Brotherhood Deputy Supreme Guide Khairat al-Shater for prime minister and is considering FJP President Saad al-Katatny as a backup.
Just last week the party's media adviser Murad Ali denied reports the party was holding internal talks ove a reshuffle. The party does not interfere with Cabinet business and believes states bodies should be independent, he said.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
