Thursday March 24, 2005

I've Been Thinking:

Gamal Mubarak, son of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, has announced that he will not run for election.

This is a very big step on Egypt's part.
It is a formal extension of Egypt's move towards new democratic reforms.
It means that the next leader of Egypt will not be the son of the current ruler.
The announcement shakes an axiom that was assumed obvious and inevitable for years, if not decades.

The reason for this decision is manifold.
But it is probably a combination of three important factors.

#1 pressure to reform, and hence, have serious as opposed to pre-determined elections
#2 Mubarak the son has no military experience and would probably not be able to convincingly lead a government that relies so strongly on army
#3 Mubarak the father does not want to let go of leadership, even and especially, to his son.

This decision will have a huge impact on Egypt. It may be the first step towards paving the way for other new and important democratic changes.