The future is ours
, עודכן
The bottom line of the Egyptian elections is the decisive victory of Islamists, who won about 70 percent of the seats in the lower house of parliament, and the decisive defeat of the democratic, secular bloc. The latter, which represents the youth from Tahrir Square who actually started the revolution, won only seven seats, less than 1.5%. The heroic young revolutionaries, without really intending to, have established an Islamist Egypt.
Egypt is likely to change in the future, although it will be a gradual change. The Muslim Brotherhood has already proved that it knows how to be pragmatic when necessary, even if this means making ideological compromises. Its connection to other movements throughout the elections proved just how well it can adapt to a particular time or situation to achieve a purpose.
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The Muslim Brotherhood is now the biggest party in the parliament, with 235 seats out of a total of 498. On Monday, the parliament will choose its speaker from the movement. This festive meeting will include the most powerful man in Egypt, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. The unexpected coalition will have to complete the task started by the Tahrir youth. The next battle will be between the brotherhood and the military council for who ultimately rules Egypt. But this will not happen tomorrow, as the parliament still needs to select 100 men to write a constitution which, like in Tunisia, will be written in Islamic ink. The constitution is the future, and Islam is what matters to the brotherhood.
The current problems though, are economic. This is where the brotherhood's statements about preserving the peace agreement with Israel, and even fraternal relations with the army, stem from. Tomorrow, if and when the economic problems are solved, we will hear a different tune from the Muslim Brothers. Conflict is only a matter of time.
More moderate voices have sprung up in recent years even within the brotherhood, but these voices are a small minority. The large and surprising achievement of the radical Salafis does not encourage the brotherhood to be more moderate.
The secular-democratic bloc has sustained a heavy blow, showing that a definitive majority of the Egyptian population did not express confidence in the secular Al-Wafd party, which only got 9%, or the Tahrir Youth party, which barely received 1.5%.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns met recently in Egypt with Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Badia. Burns heard promising things about the peace agreement with Israel, and even received assurances about the Coptic Christian community. Burns apparently returned home optimistic. The brotherhood wants to create the Egypt of tomorrow, while allowing the army to deal with today's pressing problems. The presidential election slated for the summer isn't even part of their plan. Badia called on Egyptians to stop demonstrating against the military regime, just as he did during the clashes in November and December. Badia also rejected on Saturday calls for another revolution. Why should he make this call? Because he can, having won 40% of the parliament.
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