Pharaohs-in-waiting?
At 75 he is the longest-serving President in Egypt’s history, but after 22 years of rule President Hosni Mubarak is increasingly isolated and ailing. Popular anger is rising in the face of his resistance to introducing democratic reform, while he also faces pressure from Washington. Meanwhile senior security officials want to restrain his 42-year-old son Gamal – an international banker-turned-number two in the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) – from succeeding to the Presidency. On New Year’s Day, Mubarak told state television: ‘The regime of Egypt is a republican regime and there is no inheritance of power.’ His son’s chief rival for the succession is intelligence chief General Omar Suleiman. While Egypt is usually run by generals, Gamal Mubarak has a solid party base and is rumoured to be the protégé of British New Labour’s temporarily unemployed spin doctor Peter Mandelson, infamous for grooming Tony Blair for power.
This is not the only battle for succession in the country’s political ranks: Ma’moun al-Hodeiby, head of Egypt’s increasingly popular radical Islamist movement the Muslim Brotherhood, died on 9 January 2004. His potential successors are divided between old-guard traditionalists and those who follow the more democratic model of Turkey’s governing Islamic party. The Brotherhood, officially banned, is nevertheless the main opposition force in the country.
Join over 10,000 people just like you. Get e-mail updates about new content, issue alerts, contests, and more!
Voices from the margins:
Multimedia: video, podcasts, and more.
- Poetry Slam in Zimbabwe
- The House of Hunger poetry slam held in Zimbabwe in 2006, and organised by the Pamberi Trust, showcased young artists performing inspirational work on issues from corporate power to child soldiers. The video features four of the poets.
Published by Pambazuka News.
- Iranian women speak out
- 3 March 2007, London. Women's rights activists marched through the English capital last week to celebrate International Women's Day with a protest against the misogyny of the Islamic regime in Iran and the threat of invasion by the US. Hear the voices of Iranian feminists Azar and Leila Parnian and the sounds of the demonstration as it passed through the heart of the city. Click here to learn more about the campaign.
Produced by Heidi Bachram.
- Raised Voices audio:
- Benny from West Papua on Corporate Power
- Vinayan from India on agriculture
New Internationalist (NI) workers' co-operative exists to report on issues of world poverty and inequality; to focus attention on the unjust relationship between the powerful and the powerless worldwide; to debate and campaign for the radical changes necessary to meet the basic needs of all; and to bring to life the people, the ideas and the action in the fight for global justice.
Except where otherwise noted, images on this site are copyright of the photographer/illustrator or representative agency.Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 License.
