The more it changes ...

By Magdi Mehanna

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Atef Ebeid's government left office in the middle of last year to be replaced by a new government that was greeted with perhaps a little too much optimism. The public desperately wants things to improve. Instead, prices went up and everyone grumbled. Admittedly the government needs more time. Yet the public is in no mood to wait forever.

The government, particularly the economic group, is willing to make waves. But one may ask, and perfectly legitimately, just in whose interests changes in economic policy are being introduced? So far the changes seem to help the business community rather than the majority of the population.

The dollar is edging down, and the steps so far taken to restore confidence in the economy may encourage investment in the medium term. The problem is that the public wants something to happen in the short term. They want to see at least evidence of results, and they want to see it now.

As for the political scene, forget it. If nations walk on two legs, one economic and one political, Egypt is limping. No political change is likely in the new year, although we're all going to be kept very busy reading about the presidential and parliamentary elections.

Externally things could not be worse. With Bush re-elected and Arafat gone Sharon will never have a better chance of liquidating the Palestinian issue. Egypt, desperate to please, has handed over the convicted spy Azzam Azzam to Israel and signed the QIZ protocol. What did it get in return? Nothing.

This week's Soapbox speaker is a journalist and former co-editor-in-chief of Al-Wafd.