By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
DailynewsegyptDailynewsegypt
  • Home
  • Business
    BusinessShow More
    Popular video-sharing app TikTok was granted by the U.S. government a 15-day extension to reach a deal with U.S. buyers, a federal court filing showed Friday. This means the deadline for ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese parent company, to reach a deal with Oracle and Walmart has been extended from Nov. 12 to Nov. 27, according to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
    TikTok updates its community guidelines
    March 23, 2023
    IFC to invest in Mediterrania Capital Partners’ fund to support African mid-cap businesses
    IFC to invest in Mediterrania Capital Partners’ fund to support African mid-cap businesses
    March 23, 2023
    Sukari gold mine’s production reaches 5.2 million ounces with $7.5bn revenues in February 2023
    Sukari gold mine’s production reaches 5.2 million ounces with $7.5bn revenues in February 2023
    March 23, 2023
    EFG Hermes records EGP 11bn revenue in FY22
    EFG Hermes records EGP 11bn revenue in FY22
    March 23, 2023
    Egyptian Environment Minister discusses cooperation with WFP representative in Cairo 
    Egyptian Environment Minister discusses cooperation with WFP representative in Cairo 
    March 23, 2023
  • Politics
    PoliticsShow More
    Egypt's Health Minister discuss bilateral cooperation with an Italian delegation 
    Egypt’s Health Minister discuss bilateral cooperation with an Italian delegation 
    March 23, 2023
    Egypt’s foreign minister phones Algerian counterpart over boosting ties
    Egypt’s foreign minister phones Algerian counterpart over boosting ties
    March 22, 2023
    Turkish President  Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Egypt President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi met in Doha
    Opinion| Türkiye and Egypt: For better times with many opportunities
    March 22, 2023
    Drought caused 43,000 deaths in Somalia in 2022: UN
    Drought caused 43,000 deaths in Somalia in 2022: UN 
    March 22, 2023
    Opinion| The Chinese dragon occupies America's place in the Middle East
    Opinion| The Chinese dragon occupies America’s place in the Middle East
    March 22, 2023
  • Interviews
    InterviewsShow More
    Government should help Egyptian arts revive its pioneering role: Omar Abdel Aziz
    Government should help Egyptian arts revive its pioneering role: Omar Abdel Aziz
    March 15, 2023
    Interconnected healthcare systems in Africa require political will from North African leaders: Amref official
    Interconnected healthcare systems in Africa require political will from North African leaders: Amref official
    March 12, 2023
    EGX ready for government’s IPOs programme: Chairperson
    EGX ready for government’s IPOs programme: Chairperson
    February 15, 2023
    British International Investment invests $4.5bn in 700 businesses across Africa: Sherine Shohdy
    February 15, 2023
    Valeo has invested around €0.5bn in Egypt over the past 10 years: CEO
    Valeo has invested around €0.5bn in Egypt over the past 10 years: CEO
    December 27, 2022
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
Reading: The responsibility of opposition
Share
Notification
Latest News
Popular video-sharing app TikTok was granted by the U.S. government a 15-day extension to reach a deal with U.S. buyers, a federal court filing showed Friday. This means the deadline for ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese parent company, to reach a deal with Oracle and Walmart has been extended from Nov. 12 to Nov. 27, according to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
TikTok updates its community guidelines
Business
Strong representation of women in TV series of Ramadan 2023
Strong representation of women in TV series of Ramadan 2023
Culture Cinema
IFC to invest in Mediterrania Capital Partners’ fund to support African mid-cap businesses
IFC to invest in Mediterrania Capital Partners’ fund to support African mid-cap businesses
Business
Sukari gold mine’s production reaches 5.2 million ounces with $7.5bn revenues in February 2023
Sukari gold mine’s production reaches 5.2 million ounces with $7.5bn revenues in February 2023
Business
EFG Hermes records EGP 11bn revenue in FY22
EFG Hermes records EGP 11bn revenue in FY22
Business
Aa
Aa
DailynewsegyptDailynewsegypt
  • Home
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Interviews
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
  • Home
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Interviews
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
  • Advertise
© 2023 DNE News. All Rights Reserved.
Dailynewsegypt > Blog > Opinion > The responsibility of opposition
Opinion

The responsibility of opposition

H.A. Hellyer
Last updated: 2013/04/17 at 3:09 PM
By H.A. Hellyer 9 Min Read
Share
Dr. H.A. Hellyer
Dr. H.A. Hellyer
SHARE
Dr. H.A. Hellyer
Dr. H.A. Hellyer

For months, from these pages and elsewhere, I have written a rather large number of articles criticising the conduct and performance of Egypt’s post-uprising political forces. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), which resumed power after Hosni Mubarak, gave a good deal of material for me to work with. I knew at the time that most Egyptians had confidence in SCAF; much was borne out in the opinion polls that showed that around 90% of Egyptians expressed confidence in the military and its leadership. I thought that confidence was ill-placed, and that there had been many problems with the way in which the military had conducted the transition. At no point did anyone respond to my words asking “well, why do you not join the military to try to change things?” or, “why are you not creating an opposition party to the military to take over?” It would be rather peculiar to expect such a critique, to be fair. It would be interesting to see the Egyptian military accept an Englishman into their army, a century after Egyptians requested the British kindly leave.

When Mohamed Morsi won the presidential elections, something I supported in contradistinction to an Ahmed Shafiq presidency, my criticism did not abate; it increased. President Morsi is the first democratically elected president of Egypt, coming to power through a revolution that costs the lives of hundreds of Egyptians. In other words, he has a great and terrible responsibility to bear along with great expectations to live up to. I am not sure if I can continue to write about that in the present tense or not because President Morsi and his government have committed so many failures thus far. I wonder if it is even possible for them to ever be considered, despite what they do, to have succeeded in bearing that responsibility. Nevertheless, at no point did anyone respond to my work asking “well, why do you not join the government to get them to change?” Perhaps the government would have realised already that if I was put in a position of authority, instead of people talking about selling off the pyramids, they would be talking about my fabulous idea of turning the state bureaucracy over to Singapore for 10 years to sort things out. (Come on: you know it would be a great idea.)

Recently, I participated in a debate entitled “The opposition has failed the people of Egypt”. Frankly, I have not given the opposition as much attention as SCAF or the Muslim Brotherhood. The government ought not to complain about that. After all, do they not keep saying that the opposition has no weight in the country? That it is entirely unrepresentative and in a bubble? (Kind of rich coming from the Brotherhood, whose bubble is astounding in its imagination, but still…). Hence, why would I expend much effort on a movement that is not really responsible for very much? (Cue Brotherhood contradiction: the Muslim Brotherhood has no weight, but somehow is responsible for just about every problem to befall Egypt, and the failure of the Nahda project to do… umm, anything) Nevertheless, I was asked to participate, so I did, after suggesting other people in my place, and figuring that the opposition’s leadership might need a bit of shaking up a bit. I doubt they would pay much attention to me, but the point, I think, of public non-intellectuals such as myself is to at least be a pain in all politicians’ sides. Some people call that “calling power to account”; personally, I just call it being gheles (you can ask your Egyptian friends to explain this really wonderful word, which sums me up completely).

Let’s be clear here: there is no shortage of evidence to show that the Egyptian opposition has failed. At every step of the way, the Egyptian ruling party has given umpteen chances to be shown up in public discourse, nationally and internationally. I humbly submit that Bassem Youssef’s political satire show in one evening does more to call the ruling party to account, than the opposition leadership does in a month. Note to opposition: you could have ridden Bassem’s media extravaganza worldwide to awesome effect with barely any effort, if you had jumped in as the defenders of freedom of speech and criticism. It would have cost you… umm, nothing. At all. Zilch. Like, less than the $2200 that Bassem had to pay for bail. (Thanks again, Egyptian government, for making Bassem more famous than he could ever have been without your tremendously thoughtful free publicity. How much you are going to regret this in just a week… watch this space). When the attacks took place against the Coptic Cathedral last week, it took the opposition leadership 36 hours to issue a statement. Thirty. Six. Hours. The list goes on and on, and frankly, a whole article could be written as bullet points in that regard.

What was different about that criticism, however, was a portion of the responses I received from supporters of the opposition, who insisted that rather than criticise, I ought to join the opposition, or provide an alternative. Criticism, it seemed, was good when aimed at Islamists and the military – but if I was not willing to join the opposition, or create an alternative opposition, I shouldn’t criticise it.

It was an interesting critique, but a flawed one. The opposition seeks to rule, and hence, they are obliged to say what they would do if they were in charge, so as to convince voters to vote for them. I thought about running once for office in the UK. The resulting near-coronary from anyone who met me for more than ten minutes was enough to change my mind. While I have something of a sadistic streak that would enjoy bringing down the level of Egyptian politics even further (is that possible?). I do think Egypt deserves a lot better. As a result, I have absolutely no intention for running in any public office, which may rob me of the opportunity to ruin this country, but oh well; but this means I am under no obligation to convince anyone I’d be better than either the government in government, or the opposition in opposition.

When Egypt has a good government, it needs a good opposition. When it has an awful government, as it does today, it needs a much, better opposition, and this opposition’s leadership has let down the people.  What’s more, they know it; if they don’t, they do deserve to be out of power. The good news, though: inside this opposition, there are many great and wonderful people who, if given the chance, can make Egypt proud of its political class. At the moment, there’s more to be proud of in shisha cafés, even the lousiest of them. Until that opposition shapes up, I’m not only going to continue critiquing it, I’m going to be more critical if they get better and more effective. There’s a phrase for that: it’s “calling power to account”. That’s an important part of this thing people call “good governance”. Get used to it.

You Might Also Like

Opinion| Türkiye and Egypt: For better times with many opportunities

Opinion| The Chinese dragon occupies America’s place in the Middle East

Beyond GDP: Changing how we measure progress is key to tackling a world in crisis

Climate change: farmers in Ghana can’t predict rainfall anymore, changing how they work

Kenzaburō Ōe: a writer of real humanity and the real Japan

TAGGED: ahmed shafiq, Bassem Youssef, Dr H A Hellyer, Morsi, Muslim Brotherhood, Nahda, Opposition, scaf, Shisha, Supreme Council of the Armed Forces
Share this Article
Facebook Twitter Email Print
By H.A. Hellyer
Dr H A Hellyer, a non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institution, is a Cairo-based specialist on Arab affairs, and relations between the Muslim world and the west. Fellow at ISPU, he was previously senior practice consultant at Gallup, and senior research fellow at Warwick University. Find him online @hahellyer and www.hahellyer.com .
Previous Article Britain bids farewell to Margaret Thatcher
Next Article 11 sub-Saharans die after boat capsizes off Morocco: medic
Leave a comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Ad image

Stay Connected

Facebook Like
Twitter Follow
Instagram Follow
Youtube Subscribe

Latest News

Popular video-sharing app TikTok was granted by the U.S. government a 15-day extension to reach a deal with U.S. buyers, a federal court filing showed Friday. This means the deadline for ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese parent company, to reach a deal with Oracle and Walmart has been extended from Nov. 12 to Nov. 27, according to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
TikTok updates its community guidelines
Business
Strong representation of women in TV series of Ramadan 2023
Strong representation of women in TV series of Ramadan 2023
Culture Cinema
IFC to invest in Mediterrania Capital Partners’ fund to support African mid-cap businesses
IFC to invest in Mediterrania Capital Partners’ fund to support African mid-cap businesses
Business
Sukari gold mine’s production reaches 5.2 million ounces with $7.5bn revenues in February 2023
Sukari gold mine’s production reaches 5.2 million ounces with $7.5bn revenues in February 2023
Business
//
Egypt’s only independent daily newspaper in English. Discuss the country’s latest with the paper’s reporters, editors, and other readers.

Quick Link

  • Home
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Interviews
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle

Sign Up for Our Newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!

© 2023 DNE News. All Rights Reserved.

Join Us!

Subscribe to our newsletter and never miss our latest news, podcasts etc..

Zero spam, Unsubscribe at any time.

Removed from reading list

Undo
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?