For Egyptians to exhort the defusing of civil war, for the fall of dead in the ranks of the demonstrators in Cairo and the cities of the Canal of Suez to become a daily event and for stubbornness to prevail over all the parties in power and in the opposition, all this means that one thing is clear: Some in Egypt and within its administration are dealing with politics with a lightness that is unmatched by amateurs managing the affairs of a common neighborhood. It also means that Egypt is about to reach the abyss, unless everyone in power and in the ranks of the various parties and political forces stops the bickering, the mobilization of the street and the opportunism in lurking and awaiting the mistakes of the other party, even if this is fueling the fire. The Egyptians showed patience in the face of dictatorship for many decades. And two years after the revolution that toppled it, the revolution is not the only one threatened to become a thing of the past. In the meantime, the state is being managed with the mentality of settlement and marking of scores before the situation shifts, in order to preempt the tilting of the balance in the ballot boxes once the Salvation Front exploits the mistakes and blunders of the Muslim Brotherhood in power to earn a large share at the People's Assembly seats. At this level, it is also exploiting the disgruntlement on the street, the lack of tourism revenues, the blows to the Egyptian pound and the damage caused to the trade and industry throughout endless seasons of strikes. For its part, the authority is also exploiting – with great confusion – the opposition's critical position after it refused to participate in Monday's dialogue, then went back to request an urgent dialogue with the state and the Salafis via a tweet by Muhammad Baradei, in order to stop the bloodbath on the street. Stubbornness, tensions and jumps in thin air are mastered by both sides to seize the available opportunities. In the meantime, the clashes on the street, along with the funerals, are turning into a daily event, amid bad news surrounding the Syrian revolution and the Arab spring because the ruling regimes it is producing are planting the seeds of fear over a price which has not been fully paid. And once again, we are faced with the following question: Is it democratic for the victors to ratify laws in a manner that is closer to the smuggling of a rotten or expired product, and as though the new ruler or his party are staying forever? Does this allow the anger of the opposition and the oppositionists to occupy the street before adopting dialogue with the state? And whose responsibility is it to contain the weapons and prevent the smuggling of the Egyptians' property and the state institutions? Who is exploiting the saboteurs and objectives to mark goals in the authority's net? Some Egyptians might believe that the warnings of Defense Minister and Commander of the Armed Forces Abdul Fattah al-Sissi against the repercussions of the confrontation in Suez, Port Said and Ismailia are an exaggeration, or an attempt to reinstate the military institution in power. But logically, and following Tantawi's retreat with a sudden blow, the army should back away from the mud of politics, at a time when the authority is governing with the stick and based on the wishes of the MB, and the opposition is linking dialogue to its own wishes and taking pleasure in drawing one concession after the other from President Muhammad Morsi. The defense minister's warnings reveal that the army is concerned about being dragged to the street once again, and placed in the face of the angry crowd that is mobilized on the beat of the fears and the sentiments. The military are worried that the game of sudden decisions adopted by the authority and the opposition's obstinate lurking of the regime's mistakes to force it to back down will reach a bloody end. Hence, Morsi calmly backs down – as he did with the committee looking into the constitutional amendments - and the Salvation Front jumps to a higher ceiling (a salvation government). Consequently, the street continues to be an arena for the confrontation, with killings, sabotage and rumors proceeding on the sidelines, and reaching the point of raising fears over “plans to internationalize the Canal of Suez" during a stage of turmoil which would paralyze navigation in the canal. It was hoped that the January 25 revolution will act as a hoist for revolutions that would put the Arab spring back on the right track. But what is happening in Egypt reveals that blood has become an inherent part of political practice and that accusations of treason and takfir have become part of the common Arabic language used in free discourse. It is the dialogue of quick gains and elite groups that are floating over the illusions of great victories, as though winning an electoral battle or governmental seats is more important than reassuring 85 million Egyptians that the post-revolution phase will not be a disaster for them and for it. And while awaiting another costly round, the tug of war with the Muslim Brotherhood will continue, whatever Morsi and Al-Baradei tweet.
