Vote Shafiq: Warts and All, Mubarak Ally is Better Choice
Neither candidate in the runoff for Egypt's presidency is very appealing, writes Daniel Serwer, but only a president with some secular appeal can restore balance, even if he is an anti-revolutionary figure. Ahmed Shafiq will try to protect the remnants of the old regime, but he will also seek compromise and yield to pressure.
Former prime minister and current presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq shows an old newspaper article, in which the Muslim Brotherhood said they were not interested in the presidency nor the government, during a news conference in Cairo June 3, 2012. Photo by REUTERS/Amr Dalsh.
Jun 6, 2012
No one interested in seeing Egypt as a thriving democracy would want to vote for either of the two candidates remaining in the June 16-17 runoff. Freedom and Justice (Muslim Brotherhood) party candidate Mohamed Morsi is an uninspiring second choice, nominated when the original candidate was barred. Former Air Force General Ahmed Shafiq was President Hosni Mubarak's last prime minister. He accomplished nothing of note in that position and is certainly a remnant of the Mubarak regime overthrown by the January 2011 revolution.
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