Suleiman gets the military vote
Image by Getty Images via @daylifeThe story goes that Omar Suleiman rose to favor when he saved President Hosni Mubarak’s life in 1995 by demanding the president ride in an armored car in Ethiopia. A gunman opened fire on the vehicle, and still Mr. Mubarak escaped unharmed.Mubarak has already had to face the political reality that he could not pass on the government to his son. The crowds have accomplished that. Suleiman is not a bad choice if you are hoping to come out of this with stability. I suspect the military has that objective. Those who are making the choices better start looking for a younger man soon.
This time, however, Mr. Suleiman may not be able to save the president.
On Saturday, Mr. Suleiman was named vice president of Egypt — and the clear successor to the top job — after years as Egypt’s foreign intelligence chief and Egypt’s lead liaison with the Palestinians. With the streets filled with protesters for a fifth day, and the death toll rising across the country, President Mubarak turned to a longtime friend, confidant, and close ally of Washington to be his second in command.
“The president is choosing a man he can trust while he is on shaky ground,” said Mahmoud Shokry, a former ambassador to Syria and personal friend of Mr. Suleiman. “There is no doubt that the president doesn’t know what will happen tomorrow.”
But Mr. Suleiman, a former general, is also the establishment’s candidate, not the public’s. His appointment, and his elevation if it is to occur, would represent not the democratic change called for on the street, but most likely a continuation of the kind of military-backed, authoritarian leadership that Mr. Mubarak led for nearly 30 years, experts said.
“I think basically this is a way of paving the way for a military-led regime in a so-called constitutional context,” said Ragui Assaad, a professor at the University of Minnesota. “It is clearly the result of negotiations with the army.”
Mr. Suleiman’s ascension may incite public anger — crowds have already begun shouting chants against him — but would also be likely to put at ease those who benefited from the status quo, at least in the short term.
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He is certainly better than the Muslim Brotherhood. Those who are trying to suggest that they are not that bad, probably think the religious bigots in charge of Iran are not that bad.
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