The decision is yours

As Egypt's media gears up for presidential elections, key issues come to the fore -- camels and first ladies. Dina Ezzat reviews the latest in absurd drama

---

There are no secrets, baited breaths, pregnant surprises -- nor for that matter machinations or deceptions. President Hosni Mubarak is set comfortably to win the 7 September presidential elections against contenders most of whom are unknown to the public. Given, however, that this will be the first presidential elections in the history of the nation, Egypt's press is making a big deal out of it.

Whether for fun or in the hope that the baby steps the nation is taking are finally on the road towards democracy, journalists and commentators assumed the tone and vocabulary of American pundits in the lead up to the US presidential elections. Candidates are being profiled and interviewed; practically insignificant political parties detailed and analysed; and to add to the absurdity, wives of contesters were duly interviewed on their respective wardrobes and political preferences.

Farce or dress rehearsal for some day serious presidential elections among equals? The front, home and opinion pages of the Egyptian press reflected a humbled political scene where not a single contender can seriously stand up to challenge -- much less pose a threat to -- Mubarak who has been in office since 1981.

It was the independent daily Nahdet Misr that on Tuesday revealed the preposterousness of the whole story when it quoted dozens of Egyptian citizens of different socio-economic and even academic backgrounds as saying that they have not heard of most of the 10 candidates that were passed by the Presidential Elections Committee, not to mention the other 20 names that were rejected. As a matter of fact, those who recognised some names told the paper that they either knew nothing about their platform or were unimpressed by their past and plans for the future.

Moreover, according to another story printed in the same issue of Nahdet Misr, the vast majority of Egyptians have some basic expectations of their president, such as improved living standards and better public services. Issues like official accountability and political reform were also mentioned by those interviewed, but they did not top the list.

Still, it was interesting -- even for the purposes of entertainment -- that the Sunday weekly Al-Arabi Al-Nasseri of the Nasserist Party printed a story indicating that Gamaa Islamiya imprisoned leader Aboud El-Zomer -- who served over a quarter of century behind bars for killing late president Anwar El-Sadat -- wanted to run for elections and asked for a televised debate with President Mubarak on matters related to home and foreign affairs.

It must have also been fun for Nahdet Misr to run in its Thursday/Friday issue a round table interview between some of its staff members and presidential candidates Wahid El-Oqssori (the reader must delve into the interview text to learn that he is leader of the Arab Socialist Egypt Party) and Fawzi Ghazal (who again is known only through the interview as chairman of the Egypt 2000 Party).

Both Ghazal and El-Oqssori put on an interesting show when they addressed the reader on their political history and electoral plans.

"I am running in the elections to win, even if victory is impossible," El-Oqssori proudly stated, adding that he counts on the support of Islamist quarters. He failed, however, to explain to readers why he would expect the Islamists to support him when he identifies himself as the "natural heir of the Socialist Union" which, to put it bluntly, had nothing to do with political Islam.

But if El-Oqssori -- whose name barely entered the Egyptian press during the past few years -- could say in confidence that he has a chance to win over Mubarak, then it must have been ok for him to make other statements that suggest once elected (dreams, some think, can always come true) he would be able to command the respect and support of the entire political spectrum from the extreme left to the extreme right.

In contrast, El-Oqssori's statements are humble compared to those of Ghazal who for some reason argued that he "would have done Egyptians a great injustice" if he had failed to run for the presidential elections. Ghazal said that he has "a message to deliver to this people, even though I am not a prophet".

It was, however, in Akhbar Al-Youm on Saturday, not on Nahdet Misr Thursday/Friday, that Ghazal offered up his economic plan: "We can use the vast deserts to have large numbers of camels. Camels are not like cows; they do not get mad-cow disease," Ghazal said.

Talaat El-Sadat, nephew of late president Anwar El-Sadat and presidential candidate for Al-Ahrar Party (in contest, nonetheless, with another Al-Ahrar contender, Helmi Salem), had too quite a set of fascinating statements to accord to the press.

In an interview with Sawt Al-Umma, an independent Sunday weekly, El-Sadat said that if he were elected head of state he would "not allow any head of state to kiss my wife on the cheek like Jimmy Carter did with Jihan El-Sadat (widow of Anwar El-Sadat). Although in the context of US culture this is simply a greeting manner, I would still not allow it because it is inconsistent with Egyptian cultural values."

What was also interesting was the interview ran by Sawt Al-Umma with Mrs Talaat El-Sadat, who said that she was considering the "new look" she would develop with designers and make-up artists for herself once she becomes Egypt's new first lady.

The first lady element was surely the most absurd part of this raucous elections saga. Al-Fagr, an independent daily that comes out on Saturday, ran a story examining the appeal and style of the first lady wanna-bees. With many profiles and a few photos, Al-Fagr introduced its readers to the contenders for the prime position who -- with the exception of Gamila Ismail, wife of Ayman Nour, leader of Al-Ghad Party -- were mainly typical middle and lower-middle class Egyptian housewives.

On the fringe there were a few signs of hope with interviews with the only two serious -- albeit not threatening to Mubarak -- presidential candidates, Nour and Noaman Gomaa, leader of Al-Wafd Party.

President Mubarak has not yet outlined his plans to the Egyptian press.