|
QALYUB, Egypt (Reuters) - The motorcade of Hamdeen Sabahy, a dark horse inEgypt's presidential race, inched over the bumpy roads of thisEgyptian town led by a car booming 1960s nationalist music inhomage to his hero, Gamal Abdel Nasser. The smiling leftist politician has a long history of opposition,first to Nasser's successor Anwar Sadat and then to Hosni Mubarak,who was deposed in last year's popular uprising. Sabahy casts himself in this week's vote as the "president of thepoor", and the big crowds at his rallies suggest he may be makinginroads in an election that looks impossible to call. In Qalyub, a shabby industrial town north of Cairo, he shook handswith factory workers and promised them social justice. "Vote for the son of Egypt. Vote for the true son of therevolution. Bring the revolution to power," a voice blared overloudspeakers on a pickup truck in his campaign convoy. Sabahy is not widely considered a front-runner alongside the likesof former Arab League chief Amr Moussa, Islamist Abdel Moneim AbolFotouh and the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Mursi. But he may take votes from Abol Fotouh, who has sought to appeal toliberals and Islamists alike. He could also damage the chances ofthe secular-minded Moussa and Ahmed Shafiq, Mubarak's last primeminister, by splitting the non-Islamist vote. Unlike them, he is untainted by links with the Mubarak era.Instead, his credentials are long years of populist struggle. "My program is the only one that will ensure victory for the maindemands of the (anti-Mubarak) January 25 revolution: freedom,social justice and dignity," Sabahy told Reuters in a steel factoryin Qalyub as workers gathered around to listen. "I am the president of the poor," he said. "I want to bring justiceto those who were wronged for so long." Sabahy promises to turn Egypt into an economic powerhouse, bridgeinequalities, protect freedoms and rights, and redirect foreignpolicy away what he sees as subservience to the West. "WAR ON POVERTY" He does not say Egypt should rip up its 1979 peace treaty withIsrael, which Sadat signed and Mubarak upheld, a posture thatsecured billions of dollars of mostly military U.S. aid, but hedoes say Egyptians should have a chance to "review" it. "I'm not ... a presidential candidate in search of a war withIsrael or any other state," Sabahy told Reuters last year. "The warI want to fight is the one against poverty." Sabahy lacks the name recognition and financial muscle of someother candidates. Nor does he have the organizational strength ofthe Muslim Brotherhood, but Sabahy has won endorsements fromseveral youth groups involved in the revolt against Mubarak, aswell as from intellectuals and celebrities. His advocacy of socialism and state intervention in the economymight seem outdated and worrying too many Egyptians, but it appealsto some of the millions who feel trapped by poverty, lack ofopportunity and failing social services. Sabahy's political involvement began when he was a student leaderopposed to Sadat, earning himself exclusion later from any post asa university lecturer or a government bureaucrat. He founded his own centre for media studies and worked with severalpolitical parties before setting up his own Karama (Dignity) party.He was elected to parliament in 2000 and 2005 despite thevote-rigging typical of the Mubarak era. Sabahy also helped found the Kefaya movement that opposed Mubarakfor years before the revolt erupted in January 2011. "Anyone can buy a program but they can't buy an honorable historyof struggle in defense of the rights of Egyptians," Sabahy said onthe campaign trail. He was detained several times, notably in 1997 when he was pushingfor land tenancy reforms for farm workers. Sabahy has won support from independent labor unions, agriculturalrights groups and several of the mothers of those killed in lastyear's protests against Mubarak. Youth leaders who endorsed himthis month cited his integrity, emphasis on social justice and"long history of struggle". His critics say Sabahy offers only unrealistic slogans and areskeptical of his Nasserist background. Nasser, who led the 1952 coup that toppled the monarchy and usheredin 60 years of military rule, was a charismatic Arab nationalistautocrat whose "Arab socialism" damaged the economy. Sabahy says he won't repeat Nasser's mistakes, but that he respectshis desire to change the lives of the poor. "I don't think Egyptians will vote on ideology. They will pick aprogram that responds to their legitimate dreams ... and a man whois similar to his program," Sabahy told Reuters. "I have been in prison for the peasants. I stood by the workers. Ihave been a son of the simple people my entire life." (Editing by Alistair Lyon ). We are high quality suppliers, our products such as Nonionic Softener Flakes Manufacturer , China Textile Enzyme for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Nonionic Softener Flakes.
Related Articles -
Nonionic Softener Flakes Manufacturer, China Textile Enzyme,
|
