The leftist Tagammu was the first opposition party to issue its platform and list of candidates for the forthcoming parliamentary elections. In the second installment of Al-Ahram Weekly's survey of the poll's main political contenders, Fatemah Farag looks at the changing fortunes, and agenda, of the left in an age of economic liberalisation

Down to earth with few grassroots
Beneath the surface of a seemingly united party, Tagammu members have struggled to adapt to a windfall of disorienting events: the downfall of the Soviet Union in 1989, the 1991 Gulf War and the launching of the Middle East peace process in 1993. In addition, the party's isolation from the so-called masses (the very people it is supposed to represent), further complicates the party's outlook. The Tagammu has survived -- but at a price.

'Opposition is not about loud voices'
Rifaat El-Said is Secretary-General of the Tagammu, he heads the party's politburo and is an appointed member to the Shura Council. He began his career of political activism in the 1950s by joining the illegal communist organisation, the Democratic Movement for National Liberation (HADETO), and has spent a total of 14 years in prison for his political convictions. With a PhD in history, El-Said is known as the most prolific historian of the communist movement in Egypt

The Tagammu has nominated 40 candidates, including three women and two Coptic Christians. The following is an educated selection of the offering