Last Thursday, a congregation of more than 150 politicians and activists held a press conference in a five-star hotel in downtown Cairo to announce the launch of the much-hyped “Egyptian Third Current.” The attendees included almost every major secular, liberal and leftist party or movement, a number of civil rights organizations, as well as the presidential campaigns of Hamdeen Sabahi and Khaled Ali. Even Mohamed ElBaradei’s “National Association for Change” and Al-Dostour party were there.
The purpose of the flashy gathering was to herald the commencement of a harsh and grueling undertaking: the establishment of a unified, progressive, civic-democratic political movement that would work to counterbalance Islamist political forces, the former ruling National Democratic Party factions and military institutions, and create what is at least a more balanced national political environment.
