The needed change

By Naguib mahfouz

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I was pleased with the news that a new cabinet will be formed soon. The call for change is one the people have expressed through various means, for things have reached a critical stage and we need a fresh outlook. Economic stagnation has reached an unprecedented and alarming level. We need new policies. We need to introduce changes so as to revitalise our economy and provide more opportunities for the young.

Political conditions in the world -- the new international order that emerged following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the predominance of a sole superpower at the turn of the 21st century -- call on us to see things in a new light for they influence our domestic scene.

Our people have always called for political reform and they deserve it. We need a greater dose of democracy. We need to take the initiative before things are imposed on us from abroad. We are at the threshold of a new era. We need to understand the new world in which we live and find ways of coping with it.

Based on an interview by Mohamed Salmawy.