See-Saw in Egypt
The Egyptian see-saw has come down for the moment on the side of Colonel Nasser and military dictatorship, leaving President Neguib and his proposals for a return to parlia- mentary government rather giddily in the air. The trade unions, who supported Colonel Nasser and his military friends, have called off the strikes which almost brought the country to a standstill; the old party politicians are coming somewhat un- certainly out of their holes; and troops are moving into Cairo, ostensibly to maintain order. There is perhaps a little comfort In this last piece of news; for it was only the military who were able to put a stop to the 1952 riots, and for a few moments during last week-end it looked as if another outbreak of blood- shed and terror was possible—with foreigners again the victims since there is no other obvious scapegoat. But with the cavalry corps taking the side of President Neguib, and other army elements tending to support Colonel Nasser, the mere presence of troops in the capital is not in itself a guarantee of peace. In fact, there is still no guarantee whatsoever of peace in Egypt, and there could not be one even if the quarrelling elements within the Government were to reach a stable settle- ment among themselves. The problem of poverty remains, and so do the British forces in the Canal Zone which all parties agree to treat as the root of all Egyptian evils. Even the wish of the British Government to withdraw the troops from the Canal and to complete the transfer of power in the Sudan is ,blunted by the depressing demonstration during the past week that the military revolution has provided neither the substance nor the shadow of stability.
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