With the birth of democracy in Egypt has come much uncertainty. Tangled between the different groups that have seen the efficacy of protesting lies the direction of Egypt’s future. When Mohammed Morsi took victory in the first elections since the fall of Mubarak, the western world waited to see the path he would select. Many worried that because he was a Muslim Brother, the US would lose an ally that has been central to peace in the region. While up until this point he had operated admirably, events just took a turn for the worse.
In a swift move designed to accelerate his ability to implement new legislation, Morsi has consolidated power and in effect risen above the powers of the legislative and judicial pillars. To many, this is not a good sign.
MOTIVATION
How far will he go?
Democracy is a messy process, and even in mature democracies, change is a battle. The American congress is grid-locked. European multi-party governments get dissolved on a monthly basis. The competing forces of left, right, and everything in between are seldom in harmony. Sometimes, democratic leaders wish they could just drown out the noise and pursue their agenda. But it doesn’t work that way.
Egypt needs a new constitution, and with unrest and novice politicians it is a monumental challenge. In the meantime, Morsi needs to act. He wants to open new investigations into the former army and government leaders’ involvement in resistance and treatment of the Arab Spring protesters who filled Tahrir Square until Mubarak was gone. This made a lot of people happy. But he also took the step to effectively uncouple the limits to his power to the rest of the government to further his reforms, a move which his opponents claim is tantamount to immunity and would place him on a level of a dictator.
REALITY
The move might be getting blown out of proportion by his opponents, and thus the media. Egyptians are not used to speaking so strongly against their leaders due to the fear of reprisal under Mubarak. The language of politics is new to them. Head on over to the United States to see how many people labelled W Bush a dictator (us, more than a few times) and how many people today see Obama as a socialist nazi (whatever that is).
Will the move actually enable Morsi to infringe upon the democratic process or is it just a symbolic step to show his willingness to change Egypt and send a signal to other parties that it’s time to get their act together? Morsi does not seem like the man that would consolidate power until the point of tyranny, but there have been a lot of democratically elected leaders who slowly tighten the noose until their power is supreme. If Morsi uses the new abilities to push through a democratic constitution and then takes a step back, Egypt and the world will breathe a sigh of relief.
