Former Army Chief Wins Egyptian Elections

Egypt's Military Strongman: Saviour Or Dictator?

Updated: 3:25am UK, Tuesday 06 May 2014

By Sherine Tadros, Middle East Correspondent

For the past three years Egypt has seen constant surprises - this month's elections though are a foregone conclusion.

Presidential candidate and former army chief Abdel Fattah al Sisi is practically guaranteed a win, formally taking the reins of the Egyptian state.

That's why Monday's interview, his first interview since announcing his candidacy, was so important and offered the biggest indication yet of what Mr al Sisi's Egypt will look like. 

He appeared on privately owned channels ONTV and CBC simultaneously with the channels' main anchors co-interviewing him.

The presenters, both vocal supporters of last July's military coup, danced around important questions seemingly afraid to offend or push too hard.

In the two-hour interview there was no mention of the killing of hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood supporters in Cairo following the coup, nor the thousands currently detained without charge after the recent crackdown.

Mr al Sisi assured the Egyptian public he had not planned the overthrow of elected President Mohamed Morsi nor did he plan to become president. Rather, he reluctantly answered a call of duty as Egypt was headed for disaster.

The referendum on the constitution earlier this year, he argued, showed him the people wanted him at the helm and so despite two assassination attempts, he decided to run.

The main theme of the interview was - 'I am running for president because someone has to save Egypt'. And in a climate of fear and rumours, this rhetoric is sure to resonate with the Egyptian public.

When pushed about his strong military background and the possibility of the country being run as a military regime, he argued the military has had no role in Egyptian politics in decades.

Unchallenged by the presenters (three Egyptian presidents since 1952 came from the army's ranks) he went on to profess his neutrality and independence from the very institution recent history has shown his survival in politics will depend on.

One of the interviewers, CBC's Lamis al Hadidyi, asked the presidential candidate about his family and where he grew up.

Mr al Sisi, for the first time, spoke emotionally about his wife and four children. This nicely crafted section of the interview was designed to show his human side.

So far the Egyptian public has seen the soldier. On Monday, they had to see the husband and father. 

On terrorism, Mr al Sisi compared what Egypt is facing to what US forces are fighting in Afghanistan. He spoke about "major progress" being made in the troubled Sinai (where a military operation has been ongoing for several months) saying 1,200 out of the 1,300 tunnels between Egypt and the besieged Gaza Strip had been destroyed. 

The security issue is his trump card and he didn't miss an opportunity to explain the serious threat facing Egypt. It justifies not only the need for a president with a military background (the only person standing against him in the election, Hamdeen Sabahi, is a civilian) but also the current crackdown on Brotherhood supporters and other forces of dissent.

Mr al Sisi made clear there was no room in his Egypt for the Muslim Brotherhood. No surprise there. Under his watch the group was declared a terrorist organisation and their members and supporters imprisoned and sentenced to death.

In the end this was never going to be a hard interview to test Mr al Sisi. He had everything to gain. In fact, at times he sounded more like the president than a candidate - using the same nationalist and paternal tone to address Egyptians while offering no details of his economic or social policies.

But then again, why should he campaign?  Egyptians weren't watching to find out the campaign pledges on offer but rather for a glimpse of his first unscripted comments.

I watched the interview at home with an Egyptian family and friends and the reaction was generally positive.

Mr al Sisi delivered a convincing performance to an Egyptian public that is exhausted and looking for a saviour.

But what he sees as saving Egypt appears to others as dragging it firmly back to authoritarianism and a security state - the very things hundreds died fighting against in the 2011 uprising.

As Mr al Sisi spoke, the nation watched. But in many areas around Cairo, power cuts (which have become a common problem across Egypt due to energy shortages) meant not everyone heard what he had to say.

This is yet another indication of the huge challenges he faces if he becomes president.

He is in good favour with much of the Egyptian people now, but once he becomes accountable for the serious problems his citizens are facing, how long will this honeymoon last?

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