Movement in Egypt
General Neguib, having at the outset set his face against deal- ings with the old school of politicians, has now not only released from prison those of them who were sufficiently dangerous to be shut up there a few months ago but is apparently willing to countenance a restoration of the party machinery of the Wafd in his attempt to keep the country united in pursuit of social and economic reform. The precise importance of this move cannot yet be assessed. There has been no attempt to strengthen (if that is the word) the cabinet of technical specialists with an experimental transfusion of.old blood. The courtesies exchanged between General Neguib and Mustafa Nahas are presumably just courtesies, since the former leader of the Wafd no longer has much -significance except as a somewhat tarnished figurehead. But the open, and officially countenanced, resuscitation of the system of Wafd agents throughout Egypt is another matter, and it is difficult to believe that the process is entirely without danger. It is one thing to enlist the co-operation of the old political forces in the proposed reform of the constitution—for, with ex-King Farouk out of the country and his former entourage power- less, nobody has much interest in leaving the constitution as it is. But it is another-thing to associate the old forces with the schemes which are also on foot for extending welfare services and " protecting " the community from the hardships which arise from the slump in cotton sales. Corruption is a habit which soon revives, even after its former addicts have protested their intention to have done with it. A great deal depends on the ability of the army, to keep its grip on- the situation as a whole, while making use of some parts of the old political machine in detail.
Previous page
