Egyptian Protesters Tell Morsi He Went Too Far
So that Arab Spring is working out great. And how about President Mohamed Morsi?
From the New York Times:
With a constitutional assembly on the brink of collapse and protesters battling the police in the streets over the slow pace of change, President Mohamed Morsi issued a decree on Thursday granting himself broad powers above any court as the guardian of Egypt’s revolution, and used his new authority to order the retrial of Hosni Mubarak.
Mr. Morsi, an Islamist and Egypt’s first elected president, portrayed his decree as an attempt to fulfill popular demands for justice and protect the transition to a constitutional democracy. But the unexpected breadth of the powers he seized raised immediate fears that he might become a new strongman. Seldom in history has a postrevolutionary leader amassed so much personal power only to relinquish it swiftly.
“An absolute presidential tyranny,” Amr Hamzawy, a liberal member of the dissolved Parliament and prominent political scientist, wrote in an online commentary. “Egypt is facing a horrifying coup against legitimacy and the rule of law and a complete assassination of the democratic transition.”
Mr. Morsi issued the decree at a high point in his five-month-old presidency, when he was basking in praise from the White House and around the world for his central role in negotiating a cease-fire that the previous night had stopped the fighting in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Hamas.
But his political opponents immediately called for demonstrations on Friday to protest his new powers.
And the protests are in full swing. The Muslim Brotherhood's political wing headquarters in Alexandria have been stormed and set ablaze. And there are large protests against Morsi and the Brotherhood in Cairo.
Over at The Arabist yesterday, Nathan Brown argued that the response to Morsi's overreach would only be effective if it was done in unison:
This time, ambitious and assertive courts could tell him no. Various political non-Islamist forces could line up against him. Neutral institutions and professional associations could cry foul. But only if they do so in unison, are they likely to be able to force Morsi to back down or to find a way to temper his power. And there is no easy venue for them to carry out their struggle. Those who oppose these moves need not only unity but a strategy. And that has never been their strong suit.
And if they do fail, then Egypt’s best hope for democracy may be a Morsi metamorphasis into an Egyptian Cincinnatus. Perhaps he will use his authority to protect a process that will build a functioning democratic and pluralistic system. That is not impossible. But it’s an odd way to build a democracy.
But other than that, things are going great.
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Comments:
Oct '11
Re: Egyptian Protesters Tell Morsi He Went Too Far
Luckily, President Obama and Secretary Clinton are taking a clear stand against Morsi's power grab, just like they did when Honduran President Manuel Zelaya tried to circumvent his country's Constitution. Oh, wait...
Jun '10
Re: Egyptian Protesters Tell Morsi He Went Too Far
I would expect a military coup followed by a protracted campaign to suppress the Muslim Brotherhood as per the old order. Billions of dollars in graft await the man who can claw his way to the top.
May '10
Re: Egyptian Protesters Tell Morsi He Went Too Far
Surprise, surprise. Maybe Twitter and Facebook can help.
May '10
Re: Egyptian Protesters Tell Morsi He Went Too Far
Shall we organize a pool on how long it will take for Morsi & The Muslim Brotherhood to ruthlessly suppress dissent and consolidate their hold on power?
May '10
Re: Egyptian Protesters Tell Morsi He Went Too Far
One can only pray for wisdom and courage for the protesters.
May '11
Re: Egyptian Protesters Tell Morsi He Went Too Far
We have two versions of the "Arab Spring" before us. Which will the Obama administration and Europe support?
Nov '10
Re: Egyptian Protesters Tell Morsi He Went Too Far
Insert Casablanca quote here. You know which one.
Oct '12
Re: Egyptian Protesters Tell Morsi He Went Too Far
Smart Diplomacy is confusing! Especially, it seems, for its practicioners.
Hillary should get out now, while the getting's good. Because this isn't going to end well, and Obama certainly won't step up and own it - unless Hillary can wrap it round his neck in her gracious stepping-down remarks.
These people are rank amateurs with an insanely-elevated sense of their own moral and intellectual superiority. Libya and Egypt have gone from relatively stable to dangerously unstable, and we have gained precisely nothing in the process. In fact, less than nothing, because Egypt has reactivated their meddling in Israel.
Heckuva job, Bammy!
Aug '10
Re: Egyptian Protesters Tell Morsi He Went Too Far
They knocked together a democracy based on popular uprisings, protests, and violence. They are now governing via popular uprisings, protests, and violence.
Borrowing some terminology: This is not a bug. System Working As Intended.
The US and Europe spent the last 400 years learning the problems with populism as a political force. You would think we would've shared such helpful info around.
Feb '11
Re: Egyptian Protesters Tell Morsi He Went Too Far
I think it's good when people respond violently to power grabs.
Aug '10
Re: Egyptian Protesters Tell Morsi He Went Too Far
Gouverneur Morris
I think it's good when people respond violently to power grabs.
So long as the response is proportional to the grab, that's not unreasonable.
Egyptian democracy was founded on the expectation that the people respond violently (or dramatically, depending on how you rate the protests) when they are pushed too far. They are being pushed hard now by their president, and have reacted accordingly. Thus, the system is working as designed.
Every democracy doesn't have to look like American democracy. Individual nations should mold it to fit their pre-existing institutions, just like the American Founders molded democracy around British common law, traditional colonial freedoms, and Protestant social institutions.
Remember all the questions in 2002, whether Islam is compatible with democracy and liberty? That was never a question the West could answer out of intellectual study; it was a question that needed to be answered through experience.
The Egyptians are now answering the question for themselves. Good for them, and I mean that sincerely.
(Mind you, Western history could have told them populist, revolutionary governments are not very reliable. But again, some lessons will only be accepted through experience.)
Nov '10
Re: Egyptian Protesters Tell Morsi He Went Too Far
On the face of things, comparing this to the Sowell clip Peter posted shortly after this, the Egyptian people are showing more sense than the American people when it comes to presidents who simply co-opt power and thumb their noses at constitutional balance of powers. Or perhaps Morsi is not as polished as Obama in the arrogation of those powers.