For many Egyptians, president Hosni Mubarak is the master in disguise of deceit, but while his 57-year-old regime is in severe jeopardy of being pried from his hands, the picture remains pixelated.
A double edge sword is burning both sides of the candle in this political analogy. While increasing unrest from the 200,000 plus protesters at Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt fearlessly express their displeasure with the regime, an immediate out might not be the best resolution.
Mubarak has promised the people of Egypt that he will be out of office by the end of his term in September, attempted to persuade the people of Egypt that his son would not be his successor, but has vehemently refused to step out of office at this conjecture.
While the protestors of Mubarak’s authoritarian rule want a decisive answer now, patience remains a virtue and Rome was not built in a day. If Mubarak leaves office now, his political advisors and regime remains in office and the constitutionally perscribed successor would be the vice president.
If the regime is taken out now before the election process in September, another regime might step in place during a time of unrest and upheaval.
And this would be the beginning of your problems. Mubarak is out, but a direct copy could be relinked to the authoritarian regime that has been under his control for over three decades.
At the same time, his strong political power in September would allow pro-regime political discourse to overpower the protestors, which could ultimately create a counterintuitive protest.
Out with the old and in with the new…regime? No democratic benefit would ensue, and the Egyptian people would be in the same position they are in now.
The United States has an irrefutable reputation for the spread of democracy, and the Obama administration is attempting to resolve the issue, backing a plan that would send Mabarak out of office at the end of his term.
109 deaths later, protests exceeding quarter of a million people, Egypt is in no position to immediately overthrow the Mubarak regime. In accordance with a change in a form of government, the process is gradual and requires an accredidation-type process.
Act now in a rational state of mind will only perpetuate the authoritarian regime. The hope is that protestors retain their control throughout the process, and patiently wait for an opportune time to establish governmental control. That opportunity will be in September, giving the U.S. and Egypt enough time to work together and establish a scenario that will result in a transition from authoritarian rule to a representative democracy.
Protests have occurred in Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen to no avail. Whether or not Egypt complements that list is yet to be seen.