Money Maker: Can we trust Egypt's new president?

The words and actions of Egyptian President-elect Mohamed Morsi must be closely followed, Frida Ghitis says.Frida Ghitis: Can Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi be trusted as Egypt's president?She says Brotherhood has broken promises, modulating message for political gainShe says public comments are worrisome on women's rights, Israeli relations, enacting ShariaGhitis: Morsi, Brotherhood must show they'll hew to revolution's goals, not just grab powerEditor's note: Frida Ghitis is a world affairs columnist for The Miami Herald and World Politics Review. A former CNN producer/correspondent, she is the author of "The End of Revolution: A Changing World in the Age of Live Television." Follow her on Twitter: @FridaGColumns.

(CNN) -- The Egyptian uprising, launched by young liberals hoping to bring freedom, democracy and equality to their country, has finally produced a new president.

Mohamed Morsi, long known as the hard-line enforcer of the Muslim Brotherhood, has promised to govern for all Egyptians, vowing to protect the rights of women, children, Christians and Muslims. He says he will preserve all international agreements, implying peace with Israel, and has made a commitment to democracy, saying "there is no such thing" as "Islamic democracy."

It all sounds good, and tens of millions of Egyptians, along with millions more around the world, hope he is sincere.

And yet the Muslim Brotherhood has much to prove -- beginning with whether or not it can be trusted.

For many years the Brotherhood was banned in Egypt, so it operated underground. Since the revolution, Egyptians have had a chance to see it in action. What they have seen so far is an organization impressively capable of modulating its message to suit specific audiences to achieve political gain.

More importantly, the Brotherhood has revealed a troublesome habit of breaking its word.

Morsi won the presidency, but not before his Freedom and Justice Party, the political arm of the Brotherhood, managed to lose half of its popular support in a matter of months. Millions of Egyptians soured on the Islamist group after seeing how it acted since coming out of the shadows. Its leaders knew their presence would trigger international concern and probably a harsh crackdown.

The Muslim Brotherhood leaders promised to contest only a minority of seats in the legislature, rather than trying to win a majority. They broke that promise. They promised, through Morsi himself, "We will not have a presidential candidate. ... We are not seeking power."

They broke that promise. They vowed to run a thoroughly inclusive process for developing a new Egyptian Constitution. They broke that promise, too.

Clearly, the Brotherhood, and the soon-to-be Egyptian president, have developed something of a credibility problem.

In parliamentary elections this year, Brotherhood candidates won 10 million votes, almost 40% of the total. The more radical Islamist party, the Salafis, took 28%. Altogether, Islamist parties took control of a stunning two-thirds of the seats in parliament.

The courts recently disbanded that parliament, but not before Egyptian voters had a chance to see it in action. It was a sobering sight.

Despite all the promises of supporting the ideals of the revolution and embracing equal rights for women, the parliament took on proposals that would have dramatically set back women's rights.

And when they put together a panel to write the constitution, it was so loaded with Islamists that a number of groups withdrew in protest and filed lawsuits. That panel, too, was disbanded by the courts.

Support for the Brotherhood collapsed. Morsi won just 5 million votes in the first round of presidential elections, half as many as in the parliamentary election, one of every four votes, and just one in 10 eligible voters. He won the presidency only because many voters felt the runoff left two terrible choices: the Brotherhood or a return to the Mubarak era. Many opted to spoil their ballot rather than support either candidate.

What became clear in parliament is that when the Brotherhood gained power, it legislated along much less moderate lines than when campaigning, giving speeches to mixed audiences, or speaking to the foreign press.

In the past, Morsi has called for banning women and non-Muslims from running for president. His election rallies reportedly featured pledges to imposing Sharia, chants of "Our capital shall not be Cairo. ... It shall be Jerusalem," and other deeply disturbing slogans.

Still, the Brotherhood is strategically oriented. It keeps its eye firmly on its long-term goals while displaying flexible short-term pragmatism. To win the presidency it negotiated with the strongest power in Egypt, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. Morsi will not have a free hand to govern, at least not in the short term. The constitution is not even a work-in-progress yet. It's unclear what role the president will have. And there is currently no parliament.

Egypt is in dire economic shape, and the need to continue the flow of aid from Washington may temper rash impulses for now, particularly regarding peace with Israel. Although less than 24 hours after his "message of peace," he already seems to be backtracking on that front.

Morsi's words must be followed closely, but they must be matched against his actions, especially in the longer term, when the cameras leave Tahrir Square, the place where Egypt's revolution started with calls for real democracy and equality.

His first speech as president-elect touched on the right themes. But the Muslim Brotherhood and Egypt's soon-to-be president still need to show they are true to the ideals of the revolution, not just clever manipulators of a popular uprising.

Join us on Facebook/CNNOpinion.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Frida Ghitis.

updated 9:00 AM EDT, Thu August 16, 2012

Susan Antilla says prosecutors declined to charge Goldman Sachs but they have been quick to bring cases when the investment bank is a victimupdated 1:50 PM EDT, Thu August 16, 2012

David Rothkopf says ignore the Twitter news cycle and consider: Paul Ryan as Romney's VP pick could mark the arrival of a true Republican national viewpoint updated 9:34 AM EDT, Thu August 16, 2012

Donald Clarke says Gu Kailai's one-day trial was high profile, but few doubt that her sentence has been predetermined by the Communist Partyupdated 8:43 AM EDT, Thu August 16, 2012

Lawrence Jacobs says using Paul Ryan to ignite the Republican base is probably Mitt Romney's most plausible path to prevailing

Get the latest opinion and analysis from CNN's columnists and contributors.updated 11:12 AM EDT, Thu August 16, 2012

Targeted U.S. drone killings in Yemen, Somalia and Pakistan may violate international law, says Mary Ellen O'Connellupdated 3:34 PM EDT, Wed August 15, 2012

In Florida this weekend, Paul Ryan needs to clarify his message to seniors and Hispanics before Democrats do it for him, says Ana Navarroupdated 7:42 AM EDT, Wed August 15, 2012

Ali Noorani says young immigrants brought here by their parents and willing to work hard or defend their country get a shot at the American Dream with the start of a "deferred action" policyupdated 7:46 AM EDT, Wed August 15, 2012

Negotiating with Syria's allies is the only way to end the bloodshed and avoid the mistakes made in Iraq, say Asli Bali and Aziz Rana.updated 1:58 PM EDT, Tue August 14, 2012

Gulf Arab countries are collaborating on a missile shield against Iran. Patrick M. Cronin asks: How well can they work together?updated 8:39 AM EDT, Wed August 15, 2012

Jesús Chairez says Leo Manzano has every right to wave two flags at the Olympics since he has dual citizenship for both countries.updated 6:49 PM EDT, Tue August 14, 2012

It has consequences, says Aaron Carroll: Medicare vouchers could cost seniors and affect quality of care; block grants to states for Medicaid could cut aid to poor, elderly.updated 1:17 PM EDT, Tue August 14, 2012

Paul Ryan's interest in the novelist Ayn Rand may put him at odds with the Christian right and the Roman Catholic Church, says Gary Weiss.updated 2:00 PM EDT, Thu August 16, 2012

Frida Ghitis says that in foreign policy, it's hard to find a truly sharp disagreement on fundamental issues between Romney and Obama.updated 3:12 PM EDT, Tue August 14, 2012

LZ Granderson says Americans aren't put off by Romney's wealth but by his tendency to ignore the fact that we live interdependent lives.

Money Maker

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Can we trust Egypt's new president?

No comments:

Post a Comment