Egypt’s interim president named an economist as prime minister Tuesday, ending days of deadlock as the head of the military pressured political factions to speed along the process, warning them that “maneuvering” must not hold up the transition toward new elections after the ouster of President Mohammed Morsi.
The appointment of Hazem el-Beblawi, along with the setting of a swift timetable for parliamentary and presidential elections early next year, underlined the military-backed leadership’s determination to push ahead with their transition plans in the face of Islamist protests demanding the reinstatement of Morsi, Egypt’s first freely elected president.
The new leadership got a boost Tuesday from Arab allies in the Gulf. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, both opponents of Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood, celebrated his ouster by showering the cash-strapped Egyptian government with promises of $8 billion worth of cash grants, loans and badly needed gas and oil.
In doing so, they effectively stepped in for Morsi’s Gulf patron, Qatar, a close ally of the Brotherhood that gave his government several billion in aid.
The developments underlined the multiple pressures on the new leadership even with the country still in turmoil after what Morsi’s supporters have called a coup against democracy.
The military faces calls from the United States and Western allies to show that civilians are in charge and Egypt is on a path toward a new democratically based leadership. The nascent government will soon face demands it tackle economic woes that prompted the movement to drive Morsi from office, including fuel shortages, electricity cut-offs and inflation.
At the same time, the country is deeply polarized, raising the threat of violence, particularly after more than 50 Morsi supporters were killed by security forces in clashes early Monday.
The Brotherhood on Tuesday rejected the transition plan, as tens of thousands of its supporters massed for another day in a rally outside a Cairo mosque where they have vowed to stay until Morsi is restored. The crowds waved signs of the ousted leader and brought in coffins draped with Egyptian flags representing the slain protesters.
“This new declaration affirms that those who carried out the coup, the dictator generals, don’t respect the will of the people,” the Brotherhood said in a statement. “These are all rejected and void measures.”
Still, there was not the huge nationwide turnout Brotherhood leaders had called for in the wake of the killings.
A spokesman for interim President Adly Mansour announced the appointment of el-Beblawi as prime minister and of pro-democracy leader Mohamed ElBaradei as vice president.
The naming of a prime minister had been held up for days as the sole Islamist faction among the groups that supported Morsi’s removal, the ultraconservative Al-Nour Party, blocked ElBaradei from becoming prime minister then objected to one his close allies as a compromise. ElBaradei is considered one of the strongest pro-reform figures, but many Islamists vehemently oppose him, considering him too secular.
El-Beblawi is from the liberal-secular camp — albeit a less controversial, well-known or prominent figure than ElBaradei, who will now get a vice presidential post.
Military chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi’s statement against political maneuvering, read on state TV, appeared to be a veiled warning to Al-Nour. It also suggests the military is ready to apply pressure on the politicians in the future, when multiple disputes are almost certain to emerge.
“The future of the nation is too important and sacred for maneuvers or hindrance, whatever the justifications,” el-Sissi said.
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