Cultivating the grassroots

The latest protests against the “cleansing” of Egypt’s judiciary branch represent only one of the country’s daily political agonies.  Free Egypt Party founder, Amr Hamzawy, discussed Egypt’s political stakes and the role of the opposition at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace this week. Hamzawy identified two related obstacles blocking political progress: polarization of the leadership and the opposition, and Egypt’s increasing ungovernability.

Trends and Implications

Egypt’s social and economic indicators are pointed in the wrong direction. Hamzawy predicted that at Eqypt’s current borrowing rate the country will accumulate $60 billion in foreign debt–20% owed to Qatar. Increasing insecurity in the Sinai and growing sectarian tensions betray  the government’s inability to provide security in problem areas.  Islamist suspicions of conspiracy as the cause of sectarian violence echo the excuses offered by the Mubarak regime.

Ten months after his election, Morsi has yet to introduce a major policy reform or formulate a clear vision for his government. Egyptians across the political spectrum remain disenchanted with the president’s performance on economic and social issues, particularly on human rights. Hamzawy cautioned that should Morsi and his cabinet continue in this direction, Egypt will hold early elections—an undesirable development.

The polarization between the leadership and the opposition is, to say the least, debilitating. Hamzawy predictably laid blame on Morsi, accusing the president of ignoring the opposition. Morsi has been deaf to the National Salvation Front’s calls for negotiation on the constitution.  He unilaterally set up a committee to amend the document. Hamzawy argued that Morsi’s failure to demonstrate in actions a true willingness to listen has kept the opposition from participating in his various national debates.  Hamzawy suggested the opposition pursue youth participation and localize its politics, engaging people all across Egypt, not just Cairo.  He suggested combining development and capacity building into an innovative form of constituency work aimed at engaging the impoverished populations.

Conclusion

The Muslim Brotherhood’s strong Islamist support and its post-revolutionary electoral success give Morsi the impression that compromise with secularists is unnecessary. In response, the Egyptian opposition aims to increase its political weight through grassroots constituency work—a promising sign for democratic development, though not a quick fix.