Reports have surfaced with news of a popular Egyptian movement called "Complete Your Favor," aimed at mobilizing public pressure on Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to run for the presidency. As usual, skeptics smirked at such a plan. They had always suspected that Sisi would pretend that he was not interested in becoming president, while intelligence and security services prepare for popular and media pressure to "force" him to run in the end. What may appear as a spontaneous act, they see as a conspiracy long in the making.
Those who are enthusiastic about the defense minister running for president argue that Egypt is in need of a strong charismatic leader, someone capable of inspiring the people and reviving national ambitions. Such a leader, they believe, is needed to lead state institutions in coordinating their efforts to pick the country up from its fall and firmly restore the state's respect. Key reforms will undoubtedly require introduction of unpopular policies which can only be accepted if the people truly believed in the country’s leader. Enthusiasts point to the popular support Sisi enjoys and how Egyptians for instance accepted a harsh curfew which kept them at home starting from 7 p.m. and voluntarily observed its restrictions despite the negative economic consequences in a country where shopping traditionally takes place after sunset. Contrary to this, Egyptians had strongly rejected the Brotherhood’s government’s proposals to introduce legislation that would force shops to close at 9 p.m.