For former presidential candidate, Abdel-Mon’eim Abul-Fotouh, perhaps not running for president again was not a surprising decision. In an interview with the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram last Friday, he said that he wouldn’t engage in "political cosmetics," a clear indication of how he viewed the current crisis in Egypt. He reaffirmed his opinion on Sunday by saying, “I won’t take part in deceiving people into believing we have a democratic path when we don’t.” Abul-Fotouh’s assessment is an accurate reflection of the current political atmosphere in Egypt, however, his decision is also an indirect admission that he stands no chance of winning the backing of Egyptian Islamists, and non-Islamists beyond his core supporters in Egypt Strong Party. Unlike in 2012, in which some Salafists and the young Muslim Brotherhood backed Abul-Fotouh, this scenario is no longer possible. In fact, even in a free and fair election, the chance of Abul-Fotouh garnering more votes is very slim.

Burning the last bridge with the Brotherhood and other Islamists

Abul-Fotouh’s dispute with the Muslim Brotherhood started after the January 2011 revolution. In an interview with The Middle East Institute, Abul-Fotouh explained why he left the Muslim Brotherhood saying, “I wanted to run as an independent candidate in the presidential elections, and the Muslim Brotherhood made it obligatory for members to join the Freedom and Justice Party. I also opposed the Brotherhood’s mixing of religious and political life.”  

He later acknowledged the mistakes committed by the Muslim Brotherhood from the beginning of the revolution through Morsi’s ill-fated presidency, and called for an early presidential election. He has even described the June 30 uprisings as a “revolutionary wave that turned into a coup on July 3.” Nonetheless, despite calling the ousting of Morsi a coup, Abul-Fotouh has refrained from joining the anti-coup sit-ins in Cairo's Rabaa al-Adawiya and al-Nahda squares. He was content with criticizing the military-backed interim government for violently ending the sit-ins, a move that infuriated many Brotherhood supporters. Some even went so far as to call him a traitor.