"In the short term, the election will make little difference. It failed to even address two big questions. The first is that of the succession to Mr Mubarak, who in dynastic style that the ancient pharaohs would have recognised, has been grooming his son Gamal to take over from him. The other is what role there will be for Islamist parties. The Muslim Brotherhood, the country's largest and oldest opposition movement, remains banned and unable to participate in legal politics. Until it can, true multi-party democracy will not exist.
The thing to watch is whether the Mubarak regime will seek to muzzle now emboldened opposition parties or whether they will be able freely to contest parliamentary elections in November. If they are then the Arab world's most populous country may yet see real change. America, Britain and Europe, have every interest in ensuring it does." Guardian
I would not bet any of MY money on Gamal holding the reins of power for very long. There are some tough "players" in the Egyptian government scene. For now, they are dutifully "tugging their forelocks" for the bosses son. Once the old man is gone, all bets will be off, and the sharks will start to circle the young man.
If the Muslim Brothers (Ikhwan Muslimeen) or one of their spin offs win power we will see an interesting "dance" as they maneuver toward a Sharia Law State and the US tries to persuade itself that this is the outcome it always wanted. After all, it would be DEMOCRACY!!
The State Department, US Embassy and US Ambassador statements would be fun to watch.
Jon Stewart-Watch this space.
Pat Lang
http://www.guardian.co.uk/leaders/story/0,3604,1566822,00.html
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