After 11 days of anti-government protests marked by deadly unrest, the regime appears to be trying to find an “honourable exit” for Egypt’s 30-year President Hosni Mubarak.
The 82-year-old Mubarak has promised he will not stand for re-election in September polls, but anti-regime protesters have kept up demands for his immediate ouster.
On Friday, newly-appointed Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq appeared to echo that call in comments to Al-Hurra television station, stressing the need for an “honourable departure” for the embattled ruler.
“The majority of Egyptians want honourable treatment and respect for a president who has spent a long time in power, in a civilised manner that is in keeping with the nature of the Egyptian people,” he told the news channel.
The head of state and former military man has offered various reforms in an attempt to placate demonstrators, having dissolved his government and pledged to ease the conditions for a presidential candidacy.
Mubarak himself said in an interview late on Thursday that he would like to quit but feared that chaos would result.
And in his latest televised address to the nation, Mubarak appeared to be trying to tug the heartstrings of his compatriots, saying Egypt was “the nation I have defended and in which I will die”.
“My first responsibility is now to bring security and stability to the nation to ensure a peaceful transition of power,” he said on Tuesday.
Still, Mubarak has adopted a significantly lower profile in the days since he appointed the first vice president of his three-decade rule, intelligence chief Omar Suleiman.
Only one public appearance
Most of the government’s key policy changes have since been announced by Suleiman or Shafiq, though both of them have cited the leadership of Mubarak, who has made only one public appearance since protests erupted on January 25.
“He has a genuine sense of duty and he is deeply convinced that if he were to leave, there would be chaos,” said Elijah Zarwan, of the International Crisis Group, adding Mubarak may also fear leaving office.
“There’s fear that if he were to go … he could lose everything, he might be prosecuted,” he said.
Leading opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei has already called for Mubarak to be given a “safe exit”.
“I’m for a safe exit for President Mubarak,” the Nobel peace laureate told Al-Hurra television on February 1. “We’re going to turn the page, we can pardon the past.”
Diaa Rashwan of the Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies said the country’s constitution could provide Mubarak with an exit strategy.
“Article 139 stipulates that the president can delegate his powers to the vice president,” while retaining his title, he told Agence France-Presse. “As in a constitutional monarchy, his role would become honorific.”
Zarwan said a high percentage of demonstrators could be satisfied with such a move.
“I think that in the last few days the regime managed to make advances in the battle for public opinion,” he said. “Many people in Tahrir Square say that Mubarak’s concessions are enough.”
In the square itself, which has become the focal point for daily mass protests since January 25, demonstrator Hatem (29) said he was ready to go home on Friday.
“If Mubarak cedes his powers to vice president Suleiman, I will stop protesting,” he said. — Sapa-AFP