Several former ministers have founded a new coalition for change. Mona El-Nahhas explores their plan to bridge the gap between the government and the public The National Coalition for Democratic Change was born this week; its founder, former Prime Minister Aziz Sedqi, said the movement aims to provide a link between the public and the regime. The group hopes to place increased pressure on the government to reform, said another of its prominent founders, former Local Administration Minister Yehya El- Gamal. Without such pressure, El- Gamal said, there would not be any real reform. "Dictatorship and corruption have destroyed Egyptian politics," Sedqi told those who gathered at the Press Syndicate for the movement's launch. The group differs from the anti-President Mubarak movement, Kifaya, in its more general call for change. "We are against anyone who shuts the door to peaceful transition towards democracy," El-Gamal said. The coalition counts a bevy of prominent figures amongst its members. These include political analysts, economics experts, lawmakers and intellectuals. The group, whose founders consider constitutional reform the core of any real reform, plans to draft a new constitution. Its spokesman, controversial journalist Mustafa Bakri, said, "if the ruling NDP does not consider our agenda, the entire country will go to hell." Bakri warned that the public would never give up its demands for democracy and reform. According to Sedqi, the newly formed movement would coordinate with the various existing political forces. Their aim would be forming a unified front capable of producing a solid strategy for democratic change. "The solution to Egypt's current problems requires a unity of all efforts, and a combination of all forces," a statement issued by the movement said. Political writer Rafiq Habib, a member of the new group, said the goal was not to quarrel or compete with currently existing groups, but to "add more to what already exists". The coalition is the latest in a wave of new movements, which began with the formation of the Popular Movement for Change, better known as Kifaya (Enough). Since late last year, Kifaya has been stirring the nation's stagnant political waters via street demonstrations. In response to Kifaya, the Mish Kifaya (Not Enough) movement soon emerged, calling for the continuation of Mubarak's regime. Another group, the "Continuity for Prosperity" movement, was also formed last week; its message, much like Mish Kifaya, is that Egypt would descend into chaos if Mubarak were not re- elected. Three other movements, each representing a different segment of society, also emerged this week. "Writers for Change", "Journalists for Change" and "Workers for Change" are all calling for reform of their respective spheres, as well as an end to the Interior Ministry's meddling in their affairs. Sedqi said everyone was welcome to join the new coalition, which would strive to take the public's demands to the government's doorstep. Fighting dictatorship and corruption was a key goal, he said. While conferences and symposia will be held, it was unclear whether the group was also planning to take part in or organise demonstrations. The outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group welcomed the new movement, which it said "aims at saving Egypt from its current state of corruption and political deterioration". While hailing the coalition's members as being "efficient and respectable figures", the Brotherhood said it had yet to decide whether it would join. The Brotherhood was left out of the tripartite coalition recently formed by the Nasserist, Wafd, and Tagammu parties. The group plans to hold a major conference in a month's time, during which all political factions will be invited to discuss the movement's reform plans. Afterwards, the draft constitution will be presented to President Mubarak and the government. Attempting to preempt the standard accusations that reform movements were getting their funding from abroad, political analyst Diaa Rashwan, also a founding member of the new movement, said that all the founders are against any kind of foreign intervention in Egypt's internal affairs. "Those who rule Egypt, who get foreign aid and who establish strategic relations with the US, are the ones who opened the door to that kind of intervention," he said.
