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Reem Nafie reports on the recent wave of presidential speculation

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With the escalation of tensions in the run-up to the presidential elections in autumn, political speculation is now rife.

Hardly a day passes by without a new story unfolding, even though the authorities insist that the stories are mere rumours that are spawned for public consumption.

This week, the British press was rife with such speculation, as no less than six stories appeared in different British newspapers. There were several stories about the political future of Gamal Mubarak, the president's younger son, who plays a highly influential role in the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP).

Another topic of discussion was the supposed appointment of a vice-president -- a post that has been left vacant for the past 24 years. President Hosni Mubarak was actually the last person to hold the now vacant post.

This week, the British daily Financial Times ran an article that said President Mubarak had finally decided to nominate a vice-president. The paper also suggested that the 69-year old Chief of Intelligence Omar Suleiman was the most likely candidate to assume the office that is supposedly due to begin in October.

According to the FT article, the news item was confirmed by Presidential Spokesman Suleiman Awaad. Awaad was not immediately available for comment.

Suleiman's name has been whispered for this vacancy several times before. He has played a leading role in mediating Palestinian-Israeli and Sudanese government-opposition peace talks.

The story appeared in print even as Suleiman arrived in the occupied territories to mediate a new round of inter-Palestinian talks.

The news failed to prompt positive reactions from Cairo's intellectuals -- especially those affiliated to opposition groups.

According to Hassan Nafaa, Cairo University political science professor and member of the National Coalition for Democratic Change (NCDC), the FT story was merely "speculation" that has no political significance. "We have heard it all before," Nafaa added.

"What is now needed," he argued, "is an overhauling of the existing political regime."

Voicing the opinions of the newly formed NCDC, Nafaa said that the time has come for Egyptians to be able to directly and freely elect a president and a vice-president.

Also this week, the Daily Telegraph printed an extended statement by Gamal Mubarak where he categorically denied that he was destined to succeed his father. He stressed that the persistent rumour "has nothing to do with reality".

His main concern, he said, is to prove to the Egyptian people that the presidential and parliamentary elections "send a message that there is serious change".

For his part, President Mubarak declined to dispel the rumours. During a tour of the 10th of Ramadan City, Mubarak focussed instead on the need to upgrade Egyptian industry as a catalyst for development.

Mubarak stressed the importance of increasing exports of goods and services from the current 20 per cent to 40 per cent of the GDP. He called on the government to cut through all red tape hampering the expansion of Egyptian exports.