Issandr El Amrani and Steve Negus are back with Ursula Lindsey to geek out on Egyptian politics. Does the presidential election matter? Are Sisi and Sabahi just two variants of Nasserism? Does anyone know what’s going on anymore? These and other questions are considered, and Steve tell us about his trips to deep Upper Egypt, where sectarianism is never very far below the surface, echoes of the 1980s and 1990s are pondered and the shockwave of the counter-revolution crashes on some much deeper problems.
The title of this episode, “His program is the crisis,” comes from former Nasser advisor Mohammed Hassanein Heykal’s recent comment on that Sisi does not need an electoral program.
Show notes:
Sisi vs Sabbahi: More Nasser!
On MBC pulling Bassem Youssef to avoid him influencing voters
Roula Khalaf’s FT piece, “Too soon to embrace Sisi
Mada Masr reports on Delga (Dalja in the local accent) in Minya governorate
Reuters on the Maita verdict in which 529 were sentenced to death
Amy Hawthorne
- 46: “His program is the crisis”
