CAIRO: Presidential hopeful Amr Moussa said Sunday that he was ready to engage in a presidential debate with all candidates who announce their intention to join the race. In an interview on Dream TV's “Al-Ashera Masa'an,” Moussa, who is serving his final term as Arab League Secretary General, said he does not mind engaging in discussions with the four would-be candidates currently on the scene. “They have views that they put forward in a respectable manner,” he told host Mona El-Shazly. Moussa said he has frequently warned against the deterioration of every aspect of Egyptian life, which has witnessed major setbacks in the last 10 years of ousted President Hosni Mubarak's reign. “I said almost one week before the revolution during a conference that involved former president Hosni Mubarak that the Tunisian revolution was not far away from here … and the [citizens experiencing] marginalization, poverty and frustration, which will only end in an outburst,” he recalled. Moussa said he had disagreements with the presidency during his tenure as foreign minister, especially over the Palestinian cause and how negotiations with Israelis were conducted. Over the past two years, Moussa remained ambiguous about his intention to run for president. “In 2009 and the beginning of 2010, I said the road to the presidency was blocked,” adding that the constitutional articles on presidential elections limited the chances of nomination to two people. “After Jan. 25… it opened the road for all citizens to [practice] politics and public service,” he added. Moussa said he decided not to renew his term as Arab League secretary general despite calls from Egyptian and Arab governments urging him to remain in office. “I thought that two terms were quite enough,” he said. Last year Moussa said in a televised interview that if Mubarak ran for presidency, he would vote for him. Following the January 25 Revolution, several activists criticized Moussa for these previous statements, especially after announcing his intention to join the race for presidency. “I meant if Mubarak, the father, ran for presidency, under [the previous constitution] I would vote for him. But I would not support the inheritance of power,” Moussa said. “In another interview with Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper, I said if Gamal Mubarak ran for presidency, there would be other considerations,” he added. Moussa explained that with questions arising on whether the son or the father would run for presidency, many thought the father was the best choice given the circumstances of the pre-revolution era. Moussa described his political orientation as being “liberal whose ideology is based on democracy and its necessity to the Egyptian people.” Moussa further said that he will seek social justice for the marginalized social segments if elected. “Democracy is not a … ballot box … but far deeper. It means respecting individuals, human rights and the people's rights, combating corruption and separating powers … transparency” as well as and fair parliamentary elections, he said. “It is the opposite of dictatorship which has to do with serving one person or one family…and responding to [his] righteous views,” Moussa added. Moussa said he believes in a free economy. “When I speak about free economy, I have in mind small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Such entrepreneurs are the [backbone] of the Egyptian economy,” Moussa said. Answering a question about whether his age would be an obstacle, Moussa said that the youth activists he met recently did not object to his age. “The youth felt relieved when I said I would serve for one term only if elected president,” he said. “All coming presidents will have temporary missions that last for four or eight years,” he added. “The era of a president with a never ending mission is over.” The coming president, according to Moussa, will act within a transitional phase to establish the pillars of a new society, managing a number of issues including the state of emergency, corruption, new laws that do not provide loopholes as well as the execution of judicial orders. The Muslim Brotherhood (MB) should not be ignored, he said, adding that they have the right to establish a political party that adopts no religious ideology. He did not rule out the possibility that the MB would nominate a presidential candidate. “Every Egyptian man or woman has the right to run for presidency,” he said. Moussa said that his presidential campaign will kick off from Upper Egypt. “I believe that Upper Egypt requires special attention,” he said. He added that he is not dismayed by Facebook groups or Twitter users who are opposed to voting for him. “The era of [a presidential candidate winning] a 99 percent majority vote is gone,” he said, adding that the winner will likely garner a little over 50 percent or maybe less. Moussa said that if he wins the presidential seat, he will start working from day one. Otherwise, “I will salute the winner and step back.”
