Putin Says Egypt Army Chief Al-Seesi to Seek Presidency

[Purveyor]

Source: Bloomberg

Egyptian Defense Minister Abdelfatah al-Seesi has decided to run for the North African nation’s top office, Russian President Vladimir Putin said, endorsing the bid as a “very responsible decision.”

“I know that you, esteemed minister of defense, have decided to seek the office of president,” Putin said today at a meeting with al-Seesi outside Moscow. The Russian leader wished him luck in his resolve to “assume responsibility for the fate of the Egyptian people.”

Al-Seesi, who’s won the green light of the Egyptian military to run for president in imminent elections after leading the overthrow of Islamist president Mohamed Mursi in July, hasn’t announced his presidential plans. The minister, who is also army chief, is on his first foreign visit since the ouster to discuss multibillion dollar arms deals with Russia.

“It just reinforces what we have known for a while now that he is going to run for president and he’s going to win,” Hani Sabra, Middle East director at the Eurasia Group, said by phone from Cairo today. Al-Seesi, who has gained popularity at home, is showing that he can succeed on the international stage and be “an accepted face of Egypt.”

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-13/putin-says-egypt-army-chief-al-seesi-to-seek-presidency.html

[1000words]

1. So, in effect, nothing has changed in Egypt.

As soon as Egyptian protestors cozied up to the military for protection, their "revolution" was over.

[Purveyor]

2. But remember it wasn't a 'coup d'état'...

[Comrade Grumpy]

3. Except they're probably further down the rat hole then when they started. Long live pharoah.

[MADem]

4. Al-Sisi was chosen by Morsi to head up the military.

He is a very religious man, which is why Morsi chose him. He is widely regarded as incorruptible.

Morsi helped bring this on, with his abrogation of the Constitution and his rule by fiat. Bringing back child marriage didn't endear him to anyone save the pervs to whom he kowtowed on that score. He made the mistake of assuming he had a majority of the country supporting him, when actually, because of the way elections are held, he was the one that caused the population to hold their noses the least, at least at the outset. His actual "enthused support" was minimal.

Al-Sisi is popular right now in Egypt. It would appear that certainty and stability are desirable qualities that trump the democratic process, at least in the short term. The fact that elections are being held again is a hopeful sign--they are probably going to have a long slow road on this score.

The tourists (life blood) will not come back so long as there is crime in the streets and murder and unrest. It will be interesting to see if al-Sisi-- should he win and it is likely he will if his popularity remains where it is at now-- stays true to his religious beliefs or if power corrupts him.

Al-Sisi is only talking to Putin about arms sales because USA has scaled back military grants, FMS and other aid to Egypt as a consequence of the Morsi coup.

[Comrade Grumpy]

6. Al-Sisi doesn't have to be corrupt when the whole system he heads already is.

This is clearly a victory for the Egyptian "deep state."

I wonder what all those "democracy activists" who supported the coup think now...from their jail cells.

[MADem]

7. Well, the tradition of Egypt has long been to have a military ruler.

Even King Farouk (useless fellow) used to strut around in ever-increasing-in-size uniforms before he toddled off into exile in Monaco and the finer restaurants of Rome (he died in one of those). Nasser (still regarded as a god) engineered the first big coup, and then took over from the guy he helped install. Sadat was a young military officer and came up in the Nasser regime, along with his good friend, also a military officer, Muhamad Hosni Mubarak.

The military is trusted in Egypt, a lot like in Turkey. People, rightly or wrongly have more faith in the military than people in other countries do, and they believe that the military puts the nation first. It's impossible to compare the feeling to the way people might view a similar circumstance in, say, France, UK, Canada or USA. There just isn't that "country first" regard for uniformed leadership in the west, Ike notwithstanding...

I suspect this election will be very carefully monitored.

[bluedigger]

5. I thought choosing Egypt's leader was our job.

Putin's getting a little big for his britches, you ask me.