Egypt’s Cain and Abel? L'Homme au Masque de Fer?.............
“If one Egyptian has benefited from the conflict between Egypt and Algeria following the two countries' soccer games in the World Cup qualifications, it would be President Hosni Mubarak's son Alaa, whose popularity among his countrymen has been on the rise following his dramatic statements against Algerian fans and officials. Alongside his younger brother, Gamal, a leading member of the ruling National Democratic Party, Alaa ( a businessman with no interest in politics) was in Khartoum, Sudan, cheering for his country during Egypt's 1-0 loss to Algeria in the qualifications' playoff on Nov. 18. Unlike Gamal, Alaa immediately made his anger public by voicing his frustrations over what he described as assaults he and other Egyptian fans endured at the hands of Algerians following the game……....” Los Angeles Times
Alaa, the older Mubarak son, may have eclipsed his brother Gamal (Jamal), the Dauphin. Maybe Egypt will be spared the travesty of an oligarch calling himself President Gamal again. It would be a travesty to the memory of the earlier Gamal, the strongman who, whatever one thinks of his policies, was the closest thing to a ”leader” of the Arab world. He did not inherit the position, did not hand it to his son, and he did not have to spread petro-money to be perceived as an Arab leader by some.
He, Alaa, may be more popular than his brother simply because he is not involved in the ruling party and the regime directly. He is not perceived as wanting the job as badly. But he also made some rash and silly statements about the well-deserved defeat.
Shades of Alexandre Dumas and “L'Homme au Masque de Fer”….
Cheers
mhg
Mon Email
Comments