Egypt is looking for a new salvation front

The eleventh anniversary of the 30 June demonstrations in 2013 which paved the way for Egypt’s military coup a few days later — 3 July — coincides with three things that show how the situation of Egyptians under the rule of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi turned out: Egyptians live in the dark for hours every day, due to the continuing power crisis, whilst the government is spending billions of dollars on vanity infrastructure projects; gas supply shortages have got worse, causing four giant companies to announce that their factories will stop working; and the Egyptian president has ratified a law that allows foreign investors to lease and manage government health facilities, practically paving the way for abandoning poor patients.

There have been several public apologies made by political and intellectual figures who have taken part in or supported the 30 June protests. The protests were engineered to turn the masses against the rule of the late President Mohamed Morsi — the first elected civilian president in the country’s history — only one year after his first presidential term.

The former advisor to the Minister of Local Development for digital transformation, Engineer Essam Lala, wrote on his Facebook page, saying: “On the anniversary of 30 June, I reiterate my regret for being led by the deep state’s arrangements to overthrow the will of the people and their ability to draw change, taking them back to dictatorship at rocket speed.” In a series of posts, he called on everyone who participated in supporting 30 June to admit their mistake. He also called implicitly on President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi to step down, given the ongoing deterioration of economic and living conditions.

Journalist Gamal Sultan also expressed his regret over support for the coup, saying:

June 30 is the anniversary of the biggest hoax the Egyptians have been deceived by.

“Some have underestimated it and belittled its consequences, others have imagined that they were partners with the military in overthrowing the elected president, others believed that the military would protect legitimacy, and there were some who imagined that the General [Al-Sisi] is a benefactor who’s there to overthrow the [Muslim] Brotherhood and hand power to the people.”

According to the former Economic Editor-in-Chief of Al-Ahram, Anwar Al-Hawari, the unfolding scene can be summarised by saying: “Silence is better than holding the government and ministers responsible for the current misery. President Al-Sisi has been everything in the country for ten years.”

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The Egyptian authorities celebrate anniversaries of what they call the June 30 Revolution as official holidays. They organise concerts and theatrical performances and approve price reductions in commercial chains under the auspices of the interior ministry of. Meanwhile, people have been suffering record high prices, a rise in the prices of goods and services, a reduction of subsidies, a decline in the value of the local currency where 1 US dollar is equivalent to about 48 Egyptian pounds, and power and water outages for long hours all over the country.

During the Sisi era — he has been ruling the country as president since June 2014 — Egypt’s foreign debts have increased to more than $160 billion, as a result of spending too much on vanity projects, such as building the largest mosque, the largest church, the largest opera house, a high-speed train, and a new capital, in parallel with the sale of sovereign assets to Gulf countries. All of this is taking place amid the army’s growing control over economic activities, blocking newspapers and media outlets, banning parties and civil society organisations, and putting thousands of political opponents behind bars.

Egyptians have many questions regarding the political stalemate and compare it with what prevailed more than 10 years ago, when a Salvation Front was formed against Morsi’s rule. That front included 35 political and revolutionary movements with liberal and leftist ideologies, most notably Al-Wafd, Al-Dustour, the Free Egyptians, the Democratic Front and the Egyptian Popular Movement. In addition, there was a strong participation from the Copts, and remarkable support from the Salafist Al-Nour Party, so the most prominent question remains: Where are they all now?

The most prominent leaders of the Front have been absent from the political scene for years.

These include former Vice President Mohamed ElBaradei; former presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabahi; and former Secretary-General of the Arab League Amr Moussa, as well as others, to whom the authorities turned their backs, or even abused.

The question comes from the rapid collapse of the Front, which played a major role alongside the Tamarod movement, an opposition youth movement funded by the UAE, in providing popular cover and a political pretext for the action of Al-Sisi, who was minister of defence at the time. He gave Morsi 48 hours to meet the demands of the protesters calling for early presidential elections, before the president was overthrown, and subsequently detained and tried. Morsi died in court in June 2019.

Writer Abdullah Al-Sanawi is known for being close to the Salvation Front. “The pinnacle of the tragedy was the collapse of the Salvation Front the moment it took over the reins of the first government after 30 June,” he wrote in Al-Shorouk newspaper in 2016. “The Front did not meet once to discuss the new authority arrangements, nor to discuss the future and its main options, nor did it conduct any internal discussions regarding the constitution or its committee, which included many parties and forces affiliated with it.”

Al-Sanawi pointed out that, “Although the Front’s general coordinator, Dr Mohamed ElBaradei, assumed the position of Vice President for International Affairs (he resigned in August 2013) and practically led a large part of the formation of the new government, which included, in addition to its president Dr Hazem El-Beblawi (he resigned in February 2014), about nine other ministers, no coordination of any kind occurred at any level on the basis of belonging to one front.” Everything, he said, seemed disjointed in a way that threatened to empty the public sphere of any major political force capable of inspiring or leading public opinion. “Some parties affiliated with the front said that its role ended the moment the Brotherhood was removed from power, meaning that it was created for one purpose and by achieving it, there was no reason for it to continue to exist.”

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According to political researcher Imad Al-Masry, the 30 June coalition was temporary, and was not a permanent bloc. Rather, its goals were decided, thus causing the coalition to self-dissolve after achieving them, as well as the dissolution of its political entities, which were not real forces anyway, thus leaving Egyptians in need of influential civil society forces, which is what the authorities are keen not to allow to happen. This makes it very difficult for a new rescue front to form or for an alliance like that of 2013 to emerge, at least for the time being, after everyone has been domesticated, and thrown into the fold of nationalisation. Those who remain are shackled by security and political restrictions, and prosecutions.

There have been stories and testimonies about an internal conspiracy that had regional and international extensions to overthrow Morsi.

The conspiracy coincided with the end of the first decade of political stagnation and an ongoing economic collapse. Despite that, the 30 June entities have not yet made real evaluations or gone beyond the apology stage for the sin of overthrowing an elected president. They still cling to the position of political rivalry and hold the Islamists responsible for how things turned out, accusing them of bringing Al-Sisi to power; after his appointment as minister of defence in August 2012, he later removed the person who appointed him.

It is no secret to observers that the political divisions and sharp polarisation in the country continue, fuelled by waves of gloating first against the Brotherhood, then against the forces opposing them, and sometimes against the Egyptian people themselves. This has been divulged on social media, with the support of the authorities and the aim of eliminating any attempt at national harmony.

Security and intelligence services have succeeded in infiltrating the 30 June entities, fragmenting their ranks, offering rewards to some individuals, while threatening others. This has revealed the extent of the weakness that befell the components of the Salvation Front, and its disintegration to the point that it is most definitely a thing of the past.

One human rights activist, speaking on condition of anonymity, told me that the Egyptian people are facing a repressive regime that relies mainly on military and security alliances, and has huge clientelist networks inside and outside the country. Facing this regime are attempts at reform that have not yet succeeded in front-based work or in reaching the masses with clear visions or agreed upon programmes and people. He called on civil society to strengthen joint action so it can reach the masses in a way that pressures the regime to listen to their demands. He suggested that the Muslim Brotherhood should shift away from politics for several years to rearrange their ideas and internal situation, as well as review their visions and perceptions on several issues.

The pent-up anger among Egyptians remains an opportunity that has not yet been harvested. It can be a nucleus for change and a lifeline, if leadership is available, and the goal is clear. Otherwise, the cost of this movement will be a leap into the unknown. If it occurs, the cost will be great, politically, security-wise and economically. So, the ball remains in the people’s court alone, which is a double-edged sword.

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