Thomas L. Friedman on the limits of the Egyptian Facebook revolution

The presidential run-off vote in Egypt, in which a Muslim Brother and a representative of the Mubarak regime will compete for the office, will take place on June 16 and 17. A sobering moment for activists of the Facebook revolution, writes the US journalist Thomas L. Friedman in a commentary for the left-liberal daily La Repubblica: "What happened to the 'Facebook Revolution'? ... No doubt Facebook helped a certain educated class of Egyptians to spread the word about the Tahrir Revolution. ... But, at the end of the day, politics always comes down to two very old things: leadership and the ability to get stuff done. And when it came to those, both the Egyptian Army and the Muslim Brotherhood, two old 'brick and mortar' movements, were much more adept than the Facebook generation. To be sure, Facebook, Twitter and blogging are truly revolutionary tools of communication and expression that have brought so many new and compelling voices to light. At their best, they're changing the nature of political communication and news. But, at their worst, they can become addictive substitutes for real action."

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