There is so far no indication that Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, his party, the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), or the group he is affiliated to, the Muslim Brotherhood, will be offering concessions, backing down or even seeking after agreements to bring the country out of the crisis it is suffering from – a crisis which is likely to worsen, according to the predictions of the majority of parties, except for those in power. One can discern the plans of those in power, the intentions of the party and the direction taken by the Brotherhood in the political discourse of prominent figures of the group and of some Islamists allied to it. And there are none among them who call, for instance, for removing the Attorney General as a step towards a solution, for dissolving Hesham Qandil's government and forming another that would supervise the next parliamentary elections in order to reassure the opposition, or for taking steps towards amending the constitution as a show of good faith. As a matter of fact, it is the complete opposite, as their discourse is rife with calls demanding for “the President" to be more decisive, some going as far as calling on him to “strike" with an iron fist against those vandals – meaning members of the opposition across the political and behavioral spectrum. Yes, the situation on the ground has relatively calmed down in Egypt, yet it is always likely to escalate, as long as the reasons for the tension still stand, and as long as those in power continue to wager only on the element of time and on people getting “tired" of demonstrations, protests and violence, believing that what is taking place are mere inconsequential “trifles" with neither any value nor any influence, negative or positive. Those in power consider that the crisis will pass, and that the maneuvers they are resorting to will exhaust the opposition and distract the masses of the people from the reasons for this crisis, and that it will thus go by, having resolved itself by itself! This may well be what President Morsi wishes for, or believes – but one does not always get what ones wishes for, nor does what one believes always prove true. Indeed, the unrest, the tension and the inflamed movement of the street rise like formidable waves over certain periods and phases, and reduce the ability of those in power to deal with reality, to handle crises and to overcome problems. And when such crises and problems grow and reach their peak, there will be no use for the method of “blaming the victim" which the Presidency resorts to sometimes, the forces affiliated with those in power often, and the institutions affiliated or loyal to them always. Suffice it here to point to the surprised, astonished and outraged reactions to the stances taken by the Shura Council on the issue of sexual assaults against women during demonstrations, especially in Tahrir Square, when the members of the Council, after having discussed the problem, finally held those who had been assaulted responsible for what had happened to them, by “putting themselves in a position which makes them subject to rape!" The MPs did not tire themselves discussing the reasons for this phenomenon, or taking measures that would ensure putting a stop to it or punishing those responsible – which reinforced the theory based on this being an organized practice aimed at frightening women against taking part in demonstrations or even frequenting the square, and at embarrassing the men and breaking their will, thereby ending the movement of protests against Morsi, the FJP and the Muslim Brotherhood! President Morsi is in need of a climate different from the one he has surrounded himself with in order to resolve problems that have been piling up for decades. Yet he, along with his party and the group he is affiliated to, and with support from some of his allies, has exacerbated existing problems and created additional ones, making it difficult for him to resolve any of them at all. In fact, the most some Egyptians now wish for is for Morsi's mandate to pass without additional problems emerging, having come to believe that resolving the old problems, or even those that arose after he came to power, has become impossible! As for continuing to hurl abuse at opposition forces in general and at the Salvation Front in particular, to fish for its mistakes, which are indeed many, and to hold it responsible for all of the violence and for every mishap, as well as to accuse protesters of committing acts of violence always, of destructive practices often, or of ignorance and lack of vision sometimes, in addition to portraying the media as one run by prejudiced and degenerate rabble-rousers, they are all things that feed the crisis rather than resolve it, reinforce the tension rather than alleviate it, and increase the distance between those in power and all of those in the opposition instead of bringing them closer together. Indeed, what is required of those in power are solutions, not accusations, even if some of them are true. President Morsi has tried out a certain approach for more than seven months since he assumed office and it has not been successful. There is nothing wrong with changing or developing it – it might yield different results – rather than merely suggesting that he has changed or developed it, and proceeding to ask others to believe him and to deny what their eyes can see, to seal off their hearts and to set their minds aside.
