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Will Morsi Go the Way of Mubarak?

(Ha'aretz) David Rosenberg - Egypt is going Islamist and it's doing so according to all the democratic rules. For all the flaws of Egypt's nascent democracy, the Islamists won fair and square. The narrative that developed at Tahrir Square was that the revolution was sparked by years of repressive rule by a population yearning to breathe free. But when it came time to choose a new leader the voters preferred an Islamist or a holdover from the old regime, neither of whom are paragons of democracy or liberty. Yet Egypt's disastrous economy is more likely to undo Morsi than is resistance to an increasingly repressive Islamic rule. Egypt is in far worse shape than before the revolution. Foreign currency reserves last month stood at just over $15 billion, down from $36 billion on the eve of the revolution. In the face of opposition, Morsi retracted plans last week to raise taxes to help cover the deficit and put off taking an IMF loan. Under Mubarak, growth averaged 5.1% in the last half decade. Economic growth slowed to 2.6% in the third quarter of 2012. But Egypt's economy needs to grow at a 7% rate just to provide jobs for those entering the workforce every year.
2012-12-21 00:00:00
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