THE APU TIMES

Ancient Egypt amazes us from their astonishing rich culture to the magnificent Pyramids. These early civilizations were controlled by the Pharaohs. Even though it is slightly hard to situate, many reflections from our early civilizations can be seen in our daily lives.

Mr. Mubarak’s [so far] 28-years-of reign is the third longest in Egypt’s 4000 years of history, after Muhammed Ali Pasha and Ramses II, who had led the country for 43 and 66 years respectively. No wonder he is regarded by some as the Pharaoh of the modern times.

Born in a town called Kafr-El-Meselha to a middle family, he studied in the military academy and soon joined the Airforce. At one point he was also part of the “Speed Fire” fighter squadrons.  Gradually rising through the ranks in the military and the government, he became vice president in 1975. He succeeded the top job after [president] Anwar Sadat was assassinated by Muslim fundamentalists after having made peace with Israel. Since then he has been governing the country with 5 consecutive presidential elections in four of which there were no contender.

His rare style of governorship is that he never appointed a vice-president; presumably because he thinks by doing so he would set off an ugly power struggle that could lead to his own speedy retirement. During his reign Egypt had gone through huge transitions. By wide ranging reforms, Egypt’s economy has moved more to a decentralized and open economy thus attracted foreign investment on its soil. Through it, the economy has grown hugely thus made Egypt the tourist hub of the region.

Even though the President hasn’t dropped any hints about succession, whispers of the President’s ill health spreads. It is rumored that, shocked by the death of his favorite grandson, Mr. Mubarak had a mild stroke. He was not seen in public for weeks, and when he reappeared, he looked frailer. When Obama came to Cairo in June to deliver his momentous speech to the Muslim world, Egypt’s 81-year-old president failed to turn up.

In the speculation of his potential successor, his son Gamal Mubarak has been on the forefront. Both the president and Gamal Mubarak have strongly denied the inheritance of power. The young Mubarak, at 46, has established himself as heir apparent by drawing new blood into the ruling party backed by technocratic reforms. A former banking investor who started his career in working for the Bank of America, he is more relaxed than his father in gatherings such as the annual forum in Davos.   

The Arab world’s most populous country’s (80 million) future political and social climate makes a deep concern for the regional as well as world players. America has long been criticized by human rights groups for keeping a blind eye on Egypt’s human rights abuses and democratic structure. But Egypt under Mubarak has been America’s strong ally in the Middle East as it is the forefront supporter of America on its war on terrorism.  And his strong alliance with the Americans has been one of the factors for his long reign. 

For many countries, the most concerned on the future political climate of Egypt is Israel. A country in which the people have gone to war against each other three times, Israel is anxious on the future prospect of the nation. A number of Israeli intellectuals have argued that the established peace [in 1978] between the two countries is artificial. And only Mubarak is making it into effect that if he passes by the peace might crack down, as if it would change the Middle East geopolitical balance.

Mubarak have acted in a small shot in a movie named "Wadaa fel fagr" which was produced 1956. Since then, many years have passed that included breathtaking moments as well as numerous surprises that led us to speculate many things. Now as well as in the past, there are rumors and speculations that fundamentalist groups like the Muslim Brotherhood might take over the country. But seeing from the current establishment, it would be very unlikely. As of now, it doesn’t seem that he would step down soon. And his “play” would continue to shape Egypt’s politics for some time to come.