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| Egypt's revolution continues as grassroots rage against fragmented elite | Egypt's revolution continues as grassroots rage against fragmented elite |
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| New arrivals at Cairo airport are greeted with advertising billboards bearing the rhetoric of a concluded revolution: grainy images of people power overwritten with congratulatory quotes from foreign leaders, sealed with the logos of mobile phone networks and commercial banks. | New arrivals at Cairo airport are greeted with advertising billboards bearing the rhetoric of a concluded revolution: grainy images of people power overwritten with congratulatory quotes from foreign leaders, sealed with the logos of mobile phone networks and commercial banks. |
| Yet to the dismay of politicians and corporate executives, it seems that Egypt's grassroots revolt refuses to remain in its neatly packaged box. Millions are once again on the streets of the Arab world's most populous country. Walking among them on Sunday – for hours and hours, down road after road, all of them filled with human energy – it was easy to forget that there had ever been talk of protest fatigue. | Yet to the dismay of politicians and corporate executives, it seems that Egypt's grassroots revolt refuses to remain in its neatly packaged box. Millions are once again on the streets of the Arab world's most populous country. Walking among them on Sunday – for hours and hours, down road after road, all of them filled with human energy – it was easy to forget that there had ever been talk of protest fatigue. |
| Amid the cacophony, commentators have struggled to draw the battle lines in a political landscape that stubbornly resists simple explication. To understand what's happening in Egypt, it's important to distinguish between at least two separate struggles that are playing out, the outcomes of which will shape Egypt's ongoing revolution for some time to come. | |
| The first is a factional conflict within the ruling elite. Since Hosni Mubarak's position was rendered untenable by the popular uprising in January 2011, those elements of the authoritarian state most invested in stability – the military, the security apparatus, the plutocrats – have worked hard to shield Egypt's status quo from the full brunt of revolutionary unrest. | The first is a factional conflict within the ruling elite. Since Hosni Mubarak's position was rendered untenable by the popular uprising in January 2011, those elements of the authoritarian state most invested in stability – the military, the security apparatus, the plutocrats – have worked hard to shield Egypt's status quo from the full brunt of revolutionary unrest. |
| From late 2011 onwards, that fragmented elite has been joined by higher echelons of the conservative Muslim Brotherhood movement, much to the chagrin of Mubarak-era loyalists whose antipathy towards the Islamists runs deep. The Brotherhood's leaders have done their best to maintain the autocratic nature of Egyptian politics and keep revolutionary demands at bay, but they have a sparked a popular backlash as a result. | From late 2011 onwards, that fragmented elite has been joined by higher echelons of the conservative Muslim Brotherhood movement, much to the chagrin of Mubarak-era loyalists whose antipathy towards the Islamists runs deep. The Brotherhood's leaders have done their best to maintain the autocratic nature of Egyptian politics and keep revolutionary demands at bay, but they have a sparked a popular backlash as a result. |
| Rival elements of the state are now seizing their chance to piggy-back on that grassroots anger and engineer a reshuffle at the top. So it is that among those jostling for Morsi's departure we find the felool, remnants of the Mubarak regime seeking to reclaim authority and preserve their privileges. | Rival elements of the state are now seizing their chance to piggy-back on that grassroots anger and engineer a reshuffle at the top. So it is that among those jostling for Morsi's departure we find the felool, remnants of the Mubarak regime seeking to reclaim authority and preserve their privileges. |
| But there is a another, more critical struggle unfolding too, between those fighting to destroy the old authoritarian system that for decades has denied them political and economic agency, that plunders Egypt's public wealth in the name of private profiteers and arrests, tortures and kills those daring to defy it – and those seeking to protect it. | But there is a another, more critical struggle unfolding too, between those fighting to destroy the old authoritarian system that for decades has denied them political and economic agency, that plunders Egypt's public wealth in the name of private profiteers and arrests, tortures and kills those daring to defy it – and those seeking to protect it. |
| The majority of demonstrators have been drawn on to the streets not by a nostalgic yearning for the ancien régime but by their bitter sense of betrayal at Brotherhood rule. The president, they argue, has surrendered his legitimacy – through incompetence, through oppression, through a spectacular chain-breaking of promises that he offered up when, after a fatal split in the pro-revolutionary vote, he found himself in a presidential runoff with an icon of the Mubarak era. | The majority of demonstrators have been drawn on to the streets not by a nostalgic yearning for the ancien régime but by their bitter sense of betrayal at Brotherhood rule. The president, they argue, has surrendered his legitimacy – through incompetence, through oppression, through a spectacular chain-breaking of promises that he offered up when, after a fatal split in the pro-revolutionary vote, he found himself in a presidential runoff with an icon of the Mubarak era. |
| Morsi insisted he would reach out to all political factions and heal Egypt at this turbulent time; he promised consensus not partisanship, a constitution that would reflect the national will and not the private interests of the Brotherhood, a revolutionary pursuit of social justice and an end to state violence against its citizens. | Morsi insisted he would reach out to all political factions and heal Egypt at this turbulent time; he promised consensus not partisanship, a constitution that would reflect the national will and not the private interests of the Brotherhood, a revolutionary pursuit of social justice and an end to state violence against its citizens. |
| It was those promises that handed him the presidency: millions reluctantly gave Morsi their vote because they believed in his commitment to the revolution. He failed on every measure, and now many Egyptians are unwilling to hang around for another three years to hold him to account and get their revolution back on track. | It was those promises that handed him the presidency: millions reluctantly gave Morsi their vote because they believed in his commitment to the revolution. He failed on every measure, and now many Egyptians are unwilling to hang around for another three years to hold him to account and get their revolution back on track. |
| And so we find ourselves in the surreal situation where many are cheering a new military intervention into the political arena. Some protesters, who remember the violence delivered by the army during the uprising in 2011, refuse to cheer them today. These are the protesters carrying "No Mubarak, No Military, No Morsi" placards. But they are outnumbered by those who are cautiously optimistic that the military can force Morsi's departure and deliver fresh elections, offering a renewed chance for a more revolutionary candidate to come out on top. | And so we find ourselves in the surreal situation where many are cheering a new military intervention into the political arena. Some protesters, who remember the violence delivered by the army during the uprising in 2011, refuse to cheer them today. These are the protesters carrying "No Mubarak, No Military, No Morsi" placards. But they are outnumbered by those who are cautiously optimistic that the military can force Morsi's departure and deliver fresh elections, offering a renewed chance for a more revolutionary candidate to come out on top. |
| Some believe this to be a step back for the revolution, but you could say that the return of people to the streets, on this epic scale, is a powerful step forward. Time and again Egyptians have refused to accept the elite settlement forced upon them. First the Mubarak regime, then the junta and now the Brotherhood have all been exposed and rejected by grassroots force. | Some believe this to be a step back for the revolution, but you could say that the return of people to the streets, on this epic scale, is a powerful step forward. Time and again Egyptians have refused to accept the elite settlement forced upon them. First the Mubarak regime, then the junta and now the Brotherhood have all been exposed and rejected by grassroots force. |
| The events of the past few days, and the days to come, are not the end. This is just another stage in the struggle to break down the old system. If Morsi falls, some Mubarakists will celebrate because they seek a slice of the political pie, but their joy will be drowned out by the noise of those fighting to break the pie altogether. | The events of the past few days, and the days to come, are not the end. This is just another stage in the struggle to break down the old system. If Morsi falls, some Mubarakists will celebrate because they seek a slice of the political pie, but their joy will be drowned out by the noise of those fighting to break the pie altogether. |
| Gaber Salah, 16, known as Jika to his friends, was killed in December 2012 at a protest against a decree placing Morsi above the oversight of any court in the land. Just before setting off for the protest, Jika wrote on his Facebook page: "If I fail to come back, I ask the people to continue with the revolution and claim our rights." Today Egyptians are heeding Jika's words, and the revolution continues. | Gaber Salah, 16, known as Jika to his friends, was killed in December 2012 at a protest against a decree placing Morsi above the oversight of any court in the land. Just before setting off for the protest, Jika wrote on his Facebook page: "If I fail to come back, I ask the people to continue with the revolution and claim our rights." Today Egyptians are heeding Jika's words, and the revolution continues. |
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