An uncertain start for Egypt's new president
Source: Agencies |
June 26, 2012, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
New Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi moved into the office once occupied by his ousted predecessor Hosni Mubarak first thing yesterday morning and started work on forming a government even before he had a clear picture of what he can do after the ruling military stripped most of the major powers from his post.
The country breathed a sigh of relief that at least the question of who won the presidential runoff had been resolved after the first free and fair elections in Egypt's modern history.
People returned to work a day after fears that violence might erupt when the winner was announced on Sunday. Traffic was flowing again through Cairo's Tahrir Square, the birthplace of last year's uprising and a major intersection that had been blocked for nearly a week by Morsi supporters protesting against the military's power grab.
Egypt's benchmark stock index closed with record gains of 7.5 percent in a sign of optimism after the president was named. And newspapers were brimming with upbeat headlines, after a week of rumors and scaremongering.
"Morsi president on orders from the people: The revolution reaches the presidential palace," said a banner headline in independent daily Al-Shorouk.
"His priority is stability on the political scene," said Yasser Ali, a spokesman for Morsi.
Morsi, from the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood group, is the first Islamist president of Egypt. He defeated Mubarak's last prime minister, Ahmed Shafiq, in a tight race that deeply polarized the nation.
Now he faces a daunting struggle for power with the still-dominant military rulers who took over after Mubarak was deposed. The US-trained engineer comes into office knowing little about his authority and what he can do to resolve security and economic crises and meet the high expectations for the country's first popularly elected leader.
The contours were emerging of a backroom deal between the military and the Brotherhood that led to the ruling military council blessing Morsi as president. One mediator said negotiations are still under way to hammer out political understandings.
The country breathed a sigh of relief that at least the question of who won the presidential runoff had been resolved after the first free and fair elections in Egypt's modern history.
People returned to work a day after fears that violence might erupt when the winner was announced on Sunday. Traffic was flowing again through Cairo's Tahrir Square, the birthplace of last year's uprising and a major intersection that had been blocked for nearly a week by Morsi supporters protesting against the military's power grab.
Egypt's benchmark stock index closed with record gains of 7.5 percent in a sign of optimism after the president was named. And newspapers were brimming with upbeat headlines, after a week of rumors and scaremongering.
"Morsi president on orders from the people: The revolution reaches the presidential palace," said a banner headline in independent daily Al-Shorouk.
"His priority is stability on the political scene," said Yasser Ali, a spokesman for Morsi.
Morsi, from the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood group, is the first Islamist president of Egypt. He defeated Mubarak's last prime minister, Ahmed Shafiq, in a tight race that deeply polarized the nation.
Now he faces a daunting struggle for power with the still-dominant military rulers who took over after Mubarak was deposed. The US-trained engineer comes into office knowing little about his authority and what he can do to resolve security and economic crises and meet the high expectations for the country's first popularly elected leader.
The contours were emerging of a backroom deal between the military and the Brotherhood that led to the ruling military council blessing Morsi as president. One mediator said negotiations are still under way to hammer out political understandings.
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