By: Ahmed ELNAHAS – Castelfiorentino, May 29th 2014.
The
inevitable outcome, after 3 years of overwhelming chaos, fear and insecurity; would
be to hold tight, as firm as possible, on ‘whichever’ lifeline, thrown by
anyone to avoid drowning. You’ll catch it, without questioning the reasons or
doubting the intentions. Instead you’ll remain grateful and indebted for your ‘Saviour’.. It’s normal and it’s human.
The
Egyptians did exactly that. They found themselves driven by an increasing fear
from a deteriorating state of security, and by a dominating frustration from a
decimated economy and lack of necessities; all obliging them to barter their
initial demands (Bread,
Liberty and Social Justice, along with their hopes for Democracy and
Prosperity) against Security. The Broker who volunteered to cut the deal was no one less
than the Field-Marshal Ex Chief of Military Intelligence and Ex Defence
Minister; supreme master of 41% of the country’s GDP!
No one
questioned his intentions ever since the beginning. Since the day he appeared
on TV screens urging them to “Delegate” his armed forces and give
him an open “Power Of Attorney” to topple the elected Executive, and
restart all over from square 1.
No one
ever doubted him as masterminding the plan to restore Egypt back to its “Legitimate Ruler” the Military
Institution. On the contrary, every voice hailed him as the HERO, and every
newspaper or TV channel raced to attribute to his person all imaginable and
unimaginable adjectives. Shaping a nation wide PR campaign 5 months before any
date for the elections is set; to galvanise an image of him exactly as
described few hundred years ago in a tiny little book written by Niccolo
MACCHIVELLI and entitled “Il Principe”
(The Prince).
An image of a man with 5 key characters: Clement,
reliable, humane, honest and religious.
His
opponent had nothing to offer; and, same as him, had no
programme to formulate and present to the people; because the
clever Media machine, thought everything out.. It made us
realise that he’d close an eye on
the conflict of interest, two eyes on tax evasion, and using the precariousness
as a panacea against unemployment. All to make of him the guaranteed caretaker for
the interests of an exhausted middle class.
They made
certain that in the representation of an Inter-Classicism, anchored at loads of
moderate interests, which grew over almost sixty years to form in Egypt the hegemonic
social-electoral massive bloc; the figure of the Field Marshal would definitely
be the evolution of the specie.
Thus, he automatically
became the Leader, the Saviour, the Nasser Reincarnated or Resurrected… He turned
into the new DIVINITY for whom songs must be composed and poems must be rhymed.
He became the hope, the answer, the key to open every door towards prosperity.
Everyone
with no exception would gladly kneel before the shrine, which they have
willingly volunteered to build for him, praying that he would accept their
offerings and bless their sacrifices.
I thought
that the Coup brought the country back to 1952. I was wrong.. Egypt’s time
machine swung back to the Pyramids Building era. And that is what frightens me.
Pass On The Word.
