When Egyptian President Doctor Mohamed Morsi thought of issuing the constitutional declaration, and while he discussed the matter with his aides at the institution of the presidency and his brethren in “the Brotherhood", he certainly never imagined that the situation would reach what it has today because of the declaration, and that he would be placing himself in the position he finds himself in today – and that is a shortcoming that requires him to review himself and to blame his aides and his brethren. It is evident here to point out that the political elite which forms what is known as “secular forces" does not always have good intentions, and that its behavior and its ideas are not always devoid of opportunism, profiteering or mistakes. Nevertheless, it remains in the position of opposition, and holds none of the mechanisms of power, which are all in the hands of the President, his party and the group he is affiliated to. In spite of this, Morsi has created a crisis, instead of managing the crisis that already existed – whether with regard to the clash in Mohamed Mahmoud Street, the rejection by his competitors and those who oppose him of the Constituent Assembly drafting the constitution and of the articles that have been approved by this assembly as the draft constitution of post-revolutionary Egypt, or what remains of his crisis with (former) Prosecutor General Abdel Meguid Mahmoud and the mutual verbal attacks between prominent figures of the Muslim Brotherhood and of the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) on the one hand, and some judges on the other – not to mention the crisis of everyday life in Egypt, for which the price is paid by the simple folk, who yearn for their daily bread and do not find it, or for a job opportunity and do not obtain it, or for a certain amount of diesel oil and fail to secure it, and thus burn in the inferno of high prices and suffer the woes of deprivation and a difficult life. This is how the situation has become. The President is now in a difficult position which he himself placed himself in, while Egyptians had expected of him to break spells, solve mysteries and remove other landmines that already existed and were having repercussions. There would be no use going into the maelstrom of justifications advanced by those who are party to the conflict, as each of them believes themselves to be right. There is thus no way to convince members of the Muslim Brotherhood in particular and Islamists in general that the President made a mistake by issuing the constitutional declaration, as they have their own supporting arguments or even allegations. Similarly, one cannot convince non-Islamist forces to accept the declaration because it is temporary, or on the basis that the President will not use it to do away with those who oppose him, as they have their own justifications or even contentions. One would likewise fail to call on judges, for instance, to back down on the decisions taken by their Club or to end their strike, as they have their own stances or even vendettas. Yes, each party believes itself to be in the right, and discussing it with them will only lead to the party that would have volunteered to mediate being “worn down" or accused of kneeling to those in power and pledging loyalty to them or of joining the remnants of the former regime! The President's supporters claim that secular forces or the remnants of the former regime have seized the opportunity of the constitutional declaration being issued and exploited it to bring the crowds back to Tahrir Square, divide Egyptian society and pressure the Islamists, in order to obtain privileges from the “cake" of power, or in order to thwart the President's efforts and threaten his plans and his vision of reform. Such an analysis, by being imposed as sound, neglects to answer the question: and who was it that gave them such an opportunity? Or even to ask: and where are those plans and this vision? On the whole, even assuming that secular forces are being obstinate and opportunistic, it is up to those who have created this crisis to resolve it, unless they believe that there is no crisis to begin with or think that the crowds of members of the Muslim Brotherhood and Islamists in public squares, on streets and in front of the Presidential Palace will be sure to “frighten" those opposed to the constitutional declaration – or that tear gas canisters will get rid of those who throw stones and Molotov cocktails in Mohamed Mahmoud Street, Qasr El-Einy Street and Simon Bolivar Square! Yes, there is a major crisis, one which the President is required resolve before things go out of hand for everyone and peaceful struggle turns into “Jihad" from some or violence from others. It is no secret that the burning of Muslim Brotherhood offices in some provinces only warns of confrontations that could broaden and spread if they are not restrained and prevented from unfolding. Some might consider that for the President to back down would do him harm and drive his competitors to be “greedy" for more concessions. To come straight to point, it is true to say that the constitutional declaration was the reason that gave those parties the opportunity to increase their gains. And those who make a mistake must bear a certain amount of loss in order to correct it, and must pay the price in order to save themselves and save the country from a catastrophe. Indeed, obstinacy, insistence and moving forward with the constitutional declaration – which was issued before the President, his party and the group they are affiliated to had even been able to overcome the crisis of the “Mohamed Mahmoud commemoration" – will give Egyptians a date to remember what happened every year, as they demand the rights of the martyrs while celebrating the “Mohamed Mahmoud commemoration".
