The news of Egypt’s latest Cabinet reshuffle makes headlines in Tuesday’s newspapers.
State-owned Al-Akhbar quotes Gamal Heshmat, Shura Council member, as denouncing allegations that the Muslim Brotherhood is aiming for the “Brotherhoodization of the Cabinet.”
Heshmat counters these charges by saying that only seven ministers and four governors, who hail from the brotherhood, have taken the oath in the country’s partial cabinet changes.
In an effort to give the government facelift, 10 new ministers were sworn in Egypt’s cabinet shake-up on Sunday before President Mohamed Morsy.
The liberal opposition Wafd Party's paper Al-Wafd handles the same news differently. It writes that the last Cabinet reshuffle is an overt attempt by the Brotherhood to tighten its grip on the political sphere through appointing the group’s supporters to key posts, including ministers of interior and finance.
Al-Wafd paper points out that most of the 10 newly-appointed ministers have little or no previous experience holding top offices.
In a related context, independent daily Al-Watan leads with a story on the new Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim’s decisions.
The paper quotes an anonymous source in a headline as saying, “Securing the Brotherhood’s offices and confronting the revolution” were the top priorities in the minister’s agenda.
The report adds that a wave of anger over dismissing former minister Ahmed Gamal Eddin from his post has swept the ministry. Consequently, hundreds of policemen reportedly agreed to stage a sit-in in front of the Supreme Constitutional Court in solidarity with Public Prosecution members against “the Brotherhoodization of the state.”
Privately-owned daily Youm7 features a page dedicated solely to interviews of the newly-appointed ministers, including the interior, justice, local development, and housing ministers.
The report provides an in depth look at the senior officials’ ideologists, political affiliations, and future plans for handling the country’s current challenges.
State flagship newspaper Al-Ahram states that the Armed Forces aborted a terrorist operation near the border with Gaza that was likely targeting Rafah’s church. It is reported that security forces cordoned off the area where two vehicles carrying suspected militants were found. However, one of two cars fled.
Discrepancies continue to a larger extent between state-owned and independent papers over Rafah incident.
Independent daily Al-Tahrir quotes an anonymous source as saying that Rafah’s Coptic Orthodox church has been already burned down and abandoned since the outbreak of the 25 January revolution and that the militants were in fact targeting a nearby military camp.
Al-Wafd paper runs a headline on its front page: “The mystery of the resignation of Erian.”
The report says that the resignation of Essam al-Erian, the vice-chairman of the Freedom and Justice Party and head of the party’s committee in the Shura Council, as advisor to Morsy on Sunday night has raised doubts over the real reasons behind his decision.
Yasser Ali, presidential spokesperson, said that Erian stepped down from his post after having difficulty balancing between his two tasks.
According to the paper, some sources, however, claim, “Erian’s resignation was hurriedly accepted and welcomed by the presidency as a result of his controversial statements inviting Egyptian Jews to return to the country.”
Reading between the lines, the paper conveys a message that Erian was forced to quit his senior post, as his statements brought accusations that the Brotherhood had become an ally to Israel.
Egypt’s papers:
Al-Ahram: Daily, state-run, largest distribution in Egypt
Al-Akhbar: Daily, state-run, second to Al-Ahram in institutional size
Al-Gomhurriya: Daily, state-run
Rose al-Youssef: Daily, state-run
Al-Dostour: Daily, privately owned
Al-Shorouk: Daily, privately owned
Al-Watan: Daily, privately owned
Al-Wafd: Daily, published by the liberal Wafd Party
Youm7: Daily, privately owned
Al-Tahrir: Daily, privately owned
Al-Sabah: Daily, privately owned
Freedom and Justice: Daily, published by the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party
Sawt al-Umma: Weekly, privately owned
Al-Arabi: Weekly, published by the Nasserist Party
Al-Nour: Official paper of the Salafi Nour Party
