Egypt endangers Arab Spring

Egypt's constitutional court on Thursday declared the results of last winter's parliamentary elections partially invalid owing to irregularities, while giving the green light for Ahmed Shafik, ex-head of government under Hosni Mubarak, to run as a candidate in this weekend's runoff vote for the office of president. The military's quest for power is endangering the entire Arab Spring, the conservative daily Le Figaro fears: "A long time ago the military, which has been in power in Cairo since 1952, came to terms with the rise of the Islamists. Since the times of Mubarak's rule it had tacitly agreed to a pact: the army maintained the political and economic power while the social and religious areas were left to the Muslim Brothers. But the military, which abandoned Mubarak and gave in to the revolutionary pressure, has used this opportunity to tighten its grip on power. It never had any intention of leaving the country to the Islamists. … Given the key role Egypt plays in the Middle East, the next few days will decide the fate of all the Arab revolutions."

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