(AFP Photo)
Opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei blamed the ruling government for growing divisions in the country.
“The continuation of the current system means more failure,” said ElBaradei in a Tuesday night interview on the CBC television channel. “I spoke with [President Mohamed] Morsi two months ago and asked him to be a president for all Egyptians, but then he issued the [22 November] constitutional declaration,” the Al-Dostour Party leader added.
ElBaradei pointed to incidents of violence and torture by the police, corruption, and unreformed wage policy as “practices of the former regime”.
The National Salvation Front (NSF) leader strongly criticised the Morsi administration, saying it lacked vision and understanding.
ElBaradei, who announced his intention to run for president after the revolution but decided to withdraw, said he did not regret his decision. “I don’t regret not entering the presidential elections. I couldn’t enter elections when there wasn’t a constitution,” he said.
He reiterated the NSF’s demands, saying the opposition group would demand the creation of a new government, national reconciliation, the amendment of the current constitution, and a new elections law. He referred to rushed and flawed elections as “political bullying”.
ElBaradei warned that political stubbornness on the part of the ruling party and the president would yield disastrous consequences and restrict potential for loans from entities such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF). “We are at a crossroads. We either put ourselves on the right course or slide into disaster,” he said.
The opposition leader also stressed that the army could not re-enter political life, saying that decades of military rule led to a weak and collapsed state.
“The Brotherhood use the slogan ‘Islam is the solution’ to compensate for their loss in popularity,” said ElBaradei. “People cannot eat Sharia,” he said in reference to the immediate needs of the Egyptian population, including education and a stable political environment for economic recovery.
