December 29th, 2010 by Jason

Noha El-Hennawy writes that Mohamed ElBaradei’s rapid rise to prominence upon his return to Egypt in February 2010 “resembled the welcome a warrior receives upon returning from victory.” However, the initial excitement has since been tempered by disappointment as ElBaradei has failed to connect with Egyptians on issues such as the economy, instead spending most of his efforts on gaining signatures for his “seven reform demands,” an approach that Manar al-Shorbagy, a political scientist at the American University in Cairo, calls “a narrow way of looking at change.” Al-Shorbagy warns that ElBaradei’s “momentum will be lost for good,” if he does not become more engaged. El-Hennawy also points out that “ElBaradei spent most of 2010 abroad, only coming to Egypt on short visits. This attitude has to be changed if ElBaradei wants to bring about real change.”

Posted in Egypt, Reform |