State-owned daily Al-Ahram leads this morning with "New government to perform the oath after tomorrow." The government mouthpiece writes that 80 percent of the ministers have been appointed and that the executive will be declared on Thursday, and that presidential spokesman Yasser Ali stated that all ministers' names will be finalized today. This is the third government after the 25 January revolution
Ali added the formation of a new government wasn’t overdue, as such a task needs time and careful choice of ministers that are willing to handle the responsibility. Prime Minister-designate Hisham Qandil said yesterday in a press conference that negotiations are taking time because more than one choice is being considered for each ministry. He also said that no deputy prime minister for economic affairs has been chosen yet. Tarek Amer, the head of Al-Ahly Bank has apologized for not taking the office.
On one hand, protesters at the presidential palace are to arrange a protest on Friday to denounce the formation of a government only representing the Freedom & Justice Party. In a recent statement, protesters declared that their sit-in would continue until a government that represents the Egyptian people is formed.
On the same topic, Al-Shorouk writes that Ali stated that it is normal for some nominees to not assume office. He stressed that this coming government will not be factionalist, but will be a balanced government of national personalities.
Another headline reads, "Half of the nominated personalities refuse office because of the Muslim Brotherhood and the other half is vetoed either by the SCAF or the Brotherhood.” The independent newspaper writes that a source close to Qandil said personalities in the economic field refused ministerial positions in his government due to the current instability or due to a political stance against a Brotherhood-dominated government. The newspaper adds that another group of nominees was vetoed by either the SCAF or the Brotherhood. The source added that Qandil met with many media officials with a vision on restructuring the media but uninterested in any official position. The source stated that many of these personalities have talk shows and added that the new prime minister is convinced that anyone who appears on a talk show and talks excessively on an issue can actually solve it.
On its fifth page, Al-Shorouk writes an exclusive report about an alleged assassination attempt on the life of Omar Suleiman by Gamal Mubarak. The headline reads, “Gamal held the head of intelligence at gunpoint in the presence of former President Mubarak.” The newspaper reports that a senior security source stated that on 28 January a gun exchange occurred at the presidential palace between Gamal Mubarak and Suleiman. It reported that former minister of information Anas al-Fiqqi along with Alaa Mubarak intervened to solve the clash. According to the newspaper, Suleiman was vocal about his disagreement that Mubarak pass the presidency to his son. The exclusive file reveals other classified information but no clear documents are presented in the article.
The Freedom and Justice party’s paper leads this morning with a different line. “10 ministers in the new government await a final decision,” reads the top headline. The newspaper adds that these ministers are mostly related to economics, in addition to the Ministry of Irrigation and Agriculture. The Brotherhood mouthpiece states that the delay is due to the relationship of some officials in the Ministry of Agriculture with Israel or the formerly ruling National Democratic Party. The paper states that many officials take trips to Israel, and among these officials is Salah al-Sayyed Youssef, the Minister of Agriculture in the former government of Essam Sharaf.
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
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
