A new parliament is in session and a new government is in the making. Dina Ezzat examines the effect on the nation's ongoing reform process As Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif's Smart Village office buzzes with consultations over who will stay and who will go in the upcoming cabinet reshuffle, debates are raging about whether the new government will truly be different, or a mere re-packaging of the same old type of ministers. The key question is whether the new government will be able to deliver the kinds of reforms the public is expecting on all fronts. Earlier this week, President Hosni Mubarak renewed Nazif's mandate. The reshuffle Mubarak ordered at the same time is expected to send a clear message about the extent of the reforms that the regime is willing to embrace. Addressing the inaugural session of the 2005 parliament on Monday, Mubarak promised -- as he had during his own presidential election campaign earlier this year -- to implement a "vision for the future" that would bring about more democracy and prosperity for all Egyptians. Mubarak told parliament that his vision would be developed into a detailed plan of action; that plan was to be tailored by all the political forces within the assembly, and then implemented in tandem by both the new parliament and the new government. Indeed, during his speech, Mubarak -- who heads the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) -- stressed that his partisan affiliation would not interfere in any way with his role as the "president of all Egyptians". The broad lines of his vision, as offered on Monday, included references to judicial reform that would grant judges their long-standing demands regarding a proposed draft law that underlines their complete independence from the Justice Ministry and the executive authority. This, of all the promises made by the president during his nearly hour-long speech, received the most applause. Some MPs interpreted the cheers as appreciation of the president's commitment to further pursue the separation of the executive and judiciary, as well as a way of saluting the efforts judges made during recent legislative elections in standing up to electoral fraud. If anything, the elections highlighted the contributions the judiciary might provide the reform process, if given the scope of independence they have been demanding. On a parallel track, the president also aimed to reassure secularists, Copts, women's rights advocates and others who were concerned about the impact of the sudden rise of the Muslim Brotherhood, who now control nearly 20 per cent of the assembly's seats. It was therefore important, said Syada Greiss, one of the 10 MPs appointed by the president, that Mubarak offered serious promises in relation to the empowerment of women, as well as what he termed the "concept of citizenry as the basic rule for equality among all Egyptians". Further reform measures were directly -- and in some cases indirectly -- mentioned by the president. Mubarak made references to planned amendments of laws regulating freedom of speech (with an indirect hint that imprisonment penalties for publishing offenses could be either cancelled or restricted), and those regulating civil liberties and the state's right to interfere in these domains. These points also generated widespread applause, which either comforted the president about parliament's appreciation for his efforts, or sent a message about the need for a faster pace of reform. In any case, Mubarak's vocabulary and tone seemed to reflect an awareness of the public's disappointment over the way the parliamentary elections -- and especially their third and last round -- turned out. He attempted to reassure a nation shocked by ugly images of ballot box violence with repeated and accentuated references to reform, democracy, citizenship, civil society and human rights. Not everyone was convinced. Newly-elected Muslim Brotherhood MP Ahmed El-Kholani said it would take more than promises to reassure the nation about the way the reform process was coming along. El-Kholani said the president put too much emphasis on issues related to economic, rather then political, reform. He said the speech made "no reference at all to the intention, remote or near, to remove the emergency law that has been imposing enormous restrictions on civil liberties" for close to a quarter of a century, a law the president himself promised to remove in the early phases of his electoral campaign. In El-Kholani's view, "we are in fact talking about small, and not major reforms, even though the reforms we need are much more drastic." Other MPs preferred to gauge the seriousness of Mubarak's reform promises on the volume and significance of the cabinet reshuffle that the president ordered on Tuesday. A key indicator, they said, would be how closely the reshuffle matches loud public demands for certain ministers to be removed. Sources say the instructions Mubarak gave Prime Minister Nazif regarding the cabinet reshuffle centred on the need for the new cabinet to be in line with the vision outlined in the president's parliamentary speech. In particular, this meant that those officials who had failed to carry out their responsibilities in the nation's best interests should be let go. According to a prominent member of the ruling National Democratic Party, the president has made it abundantly clear that he was unimpressed by the violence that marred the elections, and that he is aware of their negative effect on public opinion. At the same time, he said, Mubarak also has other concerns to take into consideration when it comes to crucial ministerial posts. These include a focus on improving and modernising the performance of those ministries that provide direct socio-economic services, and which have been subject to much recent criticism. According to an informed NDP decision-maker, issues like education, health care, consumer rights, housing and urban planning are the primary concerns of the 75 per cent of registered voters who opted not to vote in the parliamentary polls. As such, Nazif has been instructed to re-engineer his cabinet portfolios to better synchronise the administration of crucial public domains like education, food subsidies, and cultural and media affairs. A source close to the prime minister's office indicated that in order to do so, Nazif might have to merge some of the existing ministries, as well as create a number of independent authorities dedicated to issues like scientific research, sports and heritage preservation. The source said the cabinet's economic team -- who were specifically praised in the president's parliamentary speech -- would not only stay where they are, but might also be granted additional leeway to pursue their aggressive reform efforts. Observers said the public was also hoping -- via the re-shuffle -- for a clear message about how Mubarak would deal with the many unfortunate confrontations that took place during legislative polling, and which resulted in several deaths. Would those responsible pay the price? The decision, sources close to the prime minister's office said, is under careful consideration. But at the end of the day, NDP and Muslim Brotherhood sources said, the composition and efficiency of the government are not the only factors that will determine the fate and extent of proposed political and socio-economic reforms. Parliament's acceptance of these reforms -- especially in light of its powerful new Islamist bloc -- is equally crucial.
