Wednesday, February 09, 2011

Editorial

Hosni Mubarak is still there? The world seems nearly plastered over with signs telling him in no uncertain terms to leave, and yet he refuses to listen.

He is refusing to listen to the people still thronging Tahrir (Liberation) Square. The crowds are even larger than one week ago, and the desire for his exit has not diminished. Mubarak is acting as if cosmetic changes will send all the protesters home happily, while he can remain immobile on his throne until the presidential elections scheduled for September.

There can be no doubt that it is good to establish a committee, as Vice President Omar Suleiman announced Tuesday, to supervise amending the country’s constitution and legislation. Another committee will investigate the events of last Wednesday, when Mubarak supporters apparently provoked violent clashes with the protesters that led to 11 deaths.

However, these moves do not suffice. Committees to take progressive steps are welcome, but they will not cause the demonstrators to abandon their revolt. Their most important demand remains the same: the departure of Hosni Mubarak. The protesters will not let him get away with a reshuffle here and a committee there, in order to keep him in place. The people will not cooperate with a government still filled predominantly with the same tired faces beholden to the autocrat.

Mubarak is also failing to heed the signals of his plummeting economy. Credit Agricole has estimated that the turmoil is costing Egypt about $310 million per day. To be sure, this week many Egyptians have gone back to work, and many businesses have reopened, but the Egyptian economy could be devastated by a loss of investor confidence if Mubarak procrastinates with his leave-taking much longer. Egypt is not immune to the cold vicissitudes of investor decisions – nations around the world must compete for the pool of foreign direct investment, and once investors decide to abandon a country, it can take years to regain their trust.

Mubarak also seems deaf to the wishes of the outside world. Already last week even his allies were calling for a “transition” from his despotism to begin without delay. He is becoming a burden to the U.S. and other Western nations, yet he does not appear to realize it.

The president should also pay attention to his own unstable health. Speculating about which infirmities afflict Mubarak has been a parlor game for years in Egypt and the region. He is 82, and his age and the bouts of ill health that have troubled him recently would be reason enough to step down.

At this point there are still ways for him to withdraw gracefully. The issue should not be Mubarak’s pride or ego; the only issue that should be animating the president of Egypt is the welfare of the Egyptian people. The best thing Hosni Mubarak could do for them is to abdicate and allow a transition to real democracy to begin.