1. Dina al-Shibeeb: Why a Mubarak-era man’s
ascent to power in Egypt shouldn’t cause
shock
Sunday, 27 May 2012
Ahmed Shafiq’s re-emergence indicates that people want some kind of iron-fist rule against a
backdrop of rising crime rates. (File photo)
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By Dina al-Shibeeb
Al Arabiya
A veteran from ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s rule, who had shoes and rocks
thrown at him more than once, has shocked many by coming in second place in the first round of
the country’s presidential elections race.
The rise (once again) of former prime minister and air force commander, Ahmed Shafiq, has
irked many, especially the revolutionaries who worked hard to rid Egypt of its old regime. They
are not alone in holding Mubarak-era officials responsible for worsening the condition of their
country’s destitute.

2. However, the turn in Shafiq’s fortune wheel has compelled some to ridicule Egyptians
altogether, saying the people will never undergo change and that the martyrdom of those of the
January 25 revolution was in vain.
The race was expected to be between the Islamists, most importantly the Muslim Brotherhood
(which had near eight decades in political organizing) and non-Islamists, because Egyptians were
growing increasingly frustrated with rising crime rates and feared a parliament packed ultra-God-
fearing men and women.
Very few placed their bets on a non-Islamist such as Shafiq because they didn’t expect voters
would choose a Mubarak associate.
There are many reasons why Shafiq has managed to come in second place.
Shafiq’s re-emergence indicates that people want some kind of iron-fist rule against a backdrop
of rising crime rates.
While Egyptians have indeed suffered from decades of state control, they have also found state-
sponsored terrorism agonizing to endure. But they no longer want to venture into the unknown or
take more risks, and this is especially true of the elderly voters who want to see Egypt’s security
restored.
Although Egyptian walls were filled with graffiti calling for an end to military rule, violence in
the capital’s Abbasiya area in May ─ which left nine people dead ─ seemed to prompt some shift
in some peoples’ minds.
People felt that they had enough; they wanted to continue with their lives and see their
businesses grow.
During the Abbasiya crisis, Shafiq was unafraid to express his true sentiments and praised the
military. And during his presidential campaigns, unlike other candidates, he used his military
background to assure people that he would bring stability to Egypt.
The Christians, who famously said they were disfranchised under Mubarak’s rule, too voted for
Shafiq in the hope that he would restore some stability and keep the Islamists away.
A vote for Shafiq also showed the absence of desirable strong liberal contenders, not just in
Egypt but across the Arab world where liberals are ill equipped to compete with well-organized
Islamists.
The American political scientist and author, Francis Fukuyama, writing in The Daily Beast on
Monday, blamed Shafiq’s ascent on Egyptian liberals themselves.
“They could organize protests and demonstrations, and act with often reckless courage to
challenge the old regime. But they could not go on to rally around a single candidate, and then
engage in the slow, dull, grinding work of organizing a political party that could contest an

3. election, district by district.”
Perhaps it was wishful thinking to expect a radical change post Arab Spring; a new government
free of remnants from a previous autocratic regime. It’s not very democratic to exclude people
just for belonging to an old regime.
Shafiq is also learning and trying to remodel himself as a revolutionary.
At a press conference on Saturday, the old military man addressed the revolutionary youth and
promised to “restore” the revolution after it was hijacked by the Muslim Brotherhood.
Only time will tell whether this too will appeal to the Egyptians.
(Dina al-Shibeeb, a journalist at Al Arabyia, can be reached at dina.ibrahim@mbc.net)