Egypt's Moussa believes the Muslim Brotherhood has political future

Egypt’s former presidential candidate Amr Moussa said yesterday that Egypt’s political leaders should leave the door open for the banned Muslim Brotherhood to return to political life if they accept the new Egyptian constitution.

Moussa said that Field Marshal Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, who orchestrated the military coup against Egypt’s elect president Mohammad Morsi, could accept the Muslim Brotherhood’s return to politics “if they accept the new constitution and worked under the same rules”.

However moderation was never the method adopted in Egyptian politics since the military coup led by army commander Al-Sisi who ousted Morsi in July after mass protests against his rule. The Muslim Brotherhood sustained major damage in a security crackdown by Egyptian security forces and the army against its members that led to the killing of hundreds of its members and thousands of arrests. The Egyptian authorities eventually outlawed the organisation and announced it “a terrorist group”.

Moussa said: “The Muslim Brotherhood has to look forward to the future [and choose] the right way and work within the system.”

The Muslim Brotherhood, who won in fair elections held after the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak in 2011, believe they were the victims of a coup and refuse to deal with the military-backed government.

Moussa, who headed the 50 committee to amend Egypt’s constitution, believes democracy accepts the Muslim Brotherhood provided that they adhere to the new constitution approved by more than 90 per cent of the Egyptian people. But the Muslim Brotherhood and many Islamists and Egyptians boycotted the referendum on the constitution in January and thus consider it void.

Moussa said the Brotherhood “has a chance to run for the elections if they want to and establish a party within the constitution’s limits”.

He had announced earlier that he will support Marshal Al-Sisi during his presidential bid saying the man deserves to be president “for all Egyptians”. However Moussa declined to respond to speculations over his future role as prime minister in the Al-Sisi government saying that Al-Sisi had not contacted him to join his presidential campaign or proposed the post.

Moussa believed Al-Sisi would save Egypt from its uncertainty but “the task will be difficult as the economy suffers, political tension is still strong and violence continues”.

“We have failed in all aspects. Our failures accumulated during years of mismanagement and half-solutions and the individualistic policies. Egypt needs a new administrative approach which improves basic education, health care, the environment and energy,” he said.

Gulf Arab states that supported the coup against Morsi provided the military backed government with billions of dollars in aid which did not relieve the pressure on state finances or compensate for the shrinking foreign reserves. He said that Egypt’s dependence on such assistance is not healthy, but he expected Arab solidarity to continue.

Moussa said it was unlikely that Egypt would be ruled by another tyrant under the new constitution although many people benefit from such practice. “The Marshal told me himself that he personally does not accept it and does not feel comfortable with all those trying to exaggerate their feelings about him,” he claimed.