Muhammad
Morsi, the now disgraced and overthrown President of Egypt, received a
rude awakening on the first anniversary of his rule, as the head of the
Egyptian Armed Forces, General Sisi orchestrated the removal of Morsi
from power; effectively a coup. Widespread protests rocked Egypt as many
took to the streets to vent their frustrations at the Muslim
Brotherhood (MB) dominated government. The MB swept to power under the
Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), winning the parliamentary elections in
early 2012 and then subsequently winning the presidential run-off. A
year on, however, the political career of both Morsi and the MB has been
brought to an abrupt end. The MB struggled to solve the myriad of
problems that faced Egypt, while simultaneously battling thugs in the
street, a seditious opposition, corruption in the judiciary, and a state
that is in shambles at many levels. As Morsi and the MB determine their
futures, RO reviews the four fundamental reasons why the MB find
themselves no longer in power.
Firstly,
the MB-dominated government inherited an economy which was already on
the verge of collapse. The lack of a clear economic roadmap made the
economical situation worse. The
problem with the Egyptian economy is that an elite few are in control
of it. When large parts of the economy were privatized, the country’s
assets went right into the hands of Mubarak's friends. These business
tycoons still maintain control over the Egyptian economy,[1] something
Morsi never attempted to change. This maldistribution led to a situation
where 40% of Egyptian population live below the poverty line.[2]
These big business elites moved much of their wealth out of the country
when Mubarak fell, leading to a big fall of the Egyptian pound,
drastically raising the cost of imports.[3]
Since Egypt is reliant upon agricultural and energy imports, this
created a massive trade imbalance and lead to MB's decision to turn to
the IMF. As inflation spiraled out of control and unemployment rose many
have taken to the streets in protest.
Secondly, Morsi failed to placate much of the opposition, who took every opportunity to undermine his rule.
The secular opposition, Mubarak-era officials, and the business elite
never accepted the MB electoral victory, and never will – their key
demand has always been that Morsi must step down.[4]
The MB have had to contend with persistent insurrection since coming to
power, and Morsi attempted to deal with this by sacking the prosecutor
general Abdel-Maguid Mahmoud and assigning himself powers over the
legislative and executive branches as well as immunity from the courts.
This backfired, leading to mass riots and stand-off in the streets of
Cairo. Morsi failed to integrate the opposition, divide them, or weaken
them. As a result, opposition figures carried out regular, often
violent, demonstrations to undermine Morsi’s rule, bringing the country
to a standstill.
Thirdly,
the Morsi regime has been plagued with indecisiveness and the inability
to deal with pressing problems as it lacks a grand vision.
After an 80 year struggle against tyranny, MB’s rise to power has made
it patently clear that the MB had no clear policy positions. Since the
election victory, the MB has gone to great lengths to demonstrate its
moderation to the West. Indeed in its rush to placate so-called
international opinion, they abandoned all commitment to Islamic
governance. When it came to applying Islamic principles they cited
constitutional barriers and the need to keep minorities onside. When it
came to applying Islamic economics, they cited the need to avoid scaring
international investors and tourists. When it came to applying the
Islamic foreign policy, they cited the need to show a moderate image and
to appease the West. Slogans such as ‘Islam is the solution,’ were very
quickly replaced with a call for a civil state. Morsi immediately sent a
communiqué confirming Egypt's commitment to peaceful ties with Israel.[5] The initial calls for Islam were completely removed from Morsi's statements as he settled into power.
Fourthly,
the MB have shown they lack political awareness by entering a political
process which was established by Gamal Abdul Nasser and which the army
maintains. The
army’s interference in the running of the country and disproportionate
influence weakens the President. The army, since the ouster of Mubarak,
has allowed the day-to-day running of the country in the hands of the
government, but has kept foreign policy firmly within its own hands. The
minister of defence is always the head of the army in Egypt. Any
policy, such as the defence budget that could affect the army’s position
were always overruled. As a result, the MB has had to toe the army’s
line, giving up whatever plans it had on its own agenda. Rather than
attempting to challenge the political system in Egypt with the mandate
it received in the elections, the MB abandoned whatever it stood for.
Despite
compromising on everything the MB stood for, this was never enough for
the secular elements, who wished to emerge victorious from the latest
demonstrations. On the economic front it was evident that both Morsi and
MB had no clear vision. Dealing with the region, Morsi did nothing to
change the status quo, but maintained what his predecessors constructed.
Despite over 80 years touting ‘Islam is the solution,’ when the
opportunity presented itself the MB failed to meet the challenge
governance posed. As a result, despite winning the elections, they were
always on the backfoot defending their rule. The demonstrations against
their rule grew in scope as the MB failed to placate the opposition,
eventually bringing the country to a standstill, which was when the army
moved in. The
irony of the turmoil in Egypt is: despite the MB never implementing
Islam to appease the West and the secularists, on the anniversary of
their rule they were thrown out of government. (By; Adnan Khan)
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