"You watch Egypt on television and it's like Vienna; you go out on the street and it's like Somalia's cousin."

These words expressed by a tuk-tuk driver could describe the worries of everyday Egyptians after consumer prices have surged and many vital food commodities have disappeared. Meanwhile, some accuse members of the government of indulging in lives of luxury while at the same time calling for austerity among the public.

It was not the first video depicting a citizen complaining about the hardships of life. However, this particular video went viral on social media earlier this month as the tuk-tuk driver spoke out about the pains of Egyptians in a very simple manner. Some have agreed with the driver as a voice expressing the misery of the poorer classes, while others have accused him of belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood and of staging the video — especially since Amr Ellissy, a TV anchor and adviser of former President Mohammed Morsi, interviewed him in the street.

“How [can] a state that has a parliament, security and military institutions, ministries of interior and foreign affairs, and 20 [other] ministries end up like this? Before the presidential elections, we had enough sugar and we would export rice. What happened? The top echelon spent 25 million pounds to celebrate, while the poor cannot find a kilogram of rice,” the driver said, alluding to the state ceremony to celebrate 150 years of parliamentary life in a three-minute-long video broadcast Oct. 12 on the “Wahed Men Ennass” show.