Wednesday’s papers: More shuffle trouble, money and meals for Tahrir thugs

The impasse with the new cabinet makes front-page news in state-owned Al-Ahram and Al-Akhbar as well as privately owned Al-Shorouk and Al-Wafd. Disorder continues after the swearing-in of the new ministers was delayed until further notice and Sharaf decided that meanwhile, some of the current ministers will remain in their posts. No date has been set for the swearing in ceremony.

 

To compound things even further, Al-Ahram runs the rumor that new Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hazem al-Beblawy could be asked to head the new government in place of Sharaf if he decides to resign for health reasons. The rumor was sparked by Beblawy's meeting with an “important figure” for two hours Tuesday.

 

Beblawy also made the front page of Al-Shorouk in his capacity as potential finance minister. The paper reports on comments he made to Reuters that he was committed to the “market economy” and fostering an attractive climate for investors. In a comment that will send shudders down socialist spines, Beblawy did not dismiss the possibility of receiving loans from the International Monetary Fund.

 

Moving from the executive to the legislative, Al-Akhbar publishes an interview with the newly appointed head of the Supreme Elections Committee, Abdel Moez Ibrahim, about the upcoming parliamentary elections. Ibrahim could not give a specific date for the elections – which will be set by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces – but said the vote is expected either in October or November. 

 

Ibrahim said that the parliamentary elections would be conducted in three stages to ensure judicial supervision over every electoral committee in every governorate. As for international monitoring of the elections, Ibrahim said the decision should be left to the Egyptian government and is not part of his committee’s mandate, Al-Akhbar writes.

 

Supreme Council of the Armed Forces head Hussein Tantawi will give a speech to commemorate the 1952 Free Officers coup d’état. He will address the most recent military academy graduates, but his speech will focus on matters that interest public opinion. He will stress the military’s support for the 25 January revolution and discuss the Tahrir sit-in and other sit-ins across the country. He is expected to express his support for freedom of expression and speech that does not hurt public interest.

 

Another military take on the Tahrir sit-in finds its way into Al-Shorouk, which reports the Armed Forces Committee at the National Accord Conference said Tahrir had fallen under the control of “thugs." The committee called for the immediate end of the Tahrir sit-in because of the harm it is causing the Egyptian economy and stock market.

 

The committee didn’t stop there; it went on to say that there were “mysterious forces” at work in the square who want Egyptian society to continue to deteriorate. These forces support the thugs in Tahrir with money and meals, the committee alleged Tuesday.  

 

More contempt for the Tahrir sit-in can be found in Al-Dostour’s article quoting former Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mohamed Mahdi Akef calling the sit-in "trivial" during an interview with an Iraqi satellite channel. Akef said everyone had the right to express himself or herself, but this did not extend to assaulting the freedom of citizens and harming Egypt’s interests. He said the protesters in Tahrir in no way represent the country's 85 million people.