The Ganzouri Fiasco

Do we ever learn from our mistakes? The People’s Assembly’s (PA) vote on March 11 to withdraw trust from Prime Minister Kamal El Ganzouri’s Cabinet could be a well-earned response to the foreign democracy funding crisis — assuming Parliament actually goes through with it. Granted, the decision to lift the travel ban on the foreigners charged in the unlicensed NGOs case wasn’t made by Ganzouri or his government. From the statements made thus far, it appears the ban was lifted by either the defacto rulers the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) or the judiciary bodies involved yielding to US pressures. It may have even been a sound legal decision, but how would we know if nobody bothers to explain it to us? This is where Ganzouri should have stepped in: Either let us know that this decision was sound and tell us the facts, or take a stand against SCAF and submit your resignation in response to the proverbial slap in the face that Egypt just received. To make matters worse, Ganzouri apparently had something more important to do than meeting with the PA on the subject, something more pressing than telling the anxious public why Egyptians are in the dock standing trial while most of their foreign counterparts have left the country. From the very beginning, the case against foreign NGOs allegedly operating illegally has been touted as Egypt's line in the sand: The government decided to take a stand and prove its independence and autonomy. No one was above Egyptian law, it said, not even American citizens, and it didn't matter how many delegations Washington sent to Cairo. In the past, every time the US pressured Egypt for something, our government usually responded with mildly expressed displeasure and a grim face — that’s about it. But this time, our hopes were raised. When Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Fayza Abou El Naga faced a diplomatic crisis with US official, we all sympathized with her and rallied to defend her stance. The decision to impose the travel ban on the foreigners united a divided nation and gave us hope. Had the state not banned them from traveling, we wouldn't have minded and it's likely that we wouldn’t have even noticed if they had left the country — the foreign NGO workers would not be the first to be tried in absentia in Egypt. But the state did bar them from traveling, boosting our patriotic egos in the process. Then, on March 1, the country woke up in shock to the news that a military plane was at Cairo International Airport waiting to take the foreign NGO workers home. For a few hours the country was on its toes waiting to hear the government’s reaction. Much to our dismay, albeit an expected dismay, the travel ban on the 17 foreigners, including eight Americans, was lifted. Their bail was paid, and off they went — and so did our hope in a sovereign state. Adding insult to injury, we heard about the military plane waiting for the foreign NGO workers before we learned anything from our dear old government or judiciary bodies about the decision to lift the travel ban. And thus the Americans flew off in a plot twist long familiar to us. Just as we were attempting to move on and forget what happened, the PA goes and reminds us that there might just be some hope left for our independence and autonomy. Our elected officials would step in, they said, and get to the bottom of this. This time around though, we aren’t rejoicing. The decision was met with a smirk and an eye-roll. Is Parliament's decision to withdraw confidence from the government really going to accomplish something or will it be another disappointment? It seems that the state reversed its decision to make the Americans stand trial because we can’t handle the political consequences of it — but it will still bash the Egyptians in court just because it can. Will Parliament truly attempt to hold to account all the parties responsible for this scandalous decision, or will the MPs simply tell off those they can actually handle telling off and let more potent, not to mention more responsible, officials off the hook because Parliament can’t do anything about it? In that scenario, Ganzouri’s Cabinet is just another scapegoat — like the Cabinets that came before it. I am all for supporting the PA’s decision and even be proud of it, for that matter. The PA’s decision — albeit a rash one that came out of anger at being stood up by the Prime Minister — could potentially be a decent response to a Cabinet that seems to take no action in a political and democratic scandal. But honestly, if Parliament doesn't follow through with this decision; if after a few days, the news comes out that the no-confidence vote was not a legitimate decision, then save us all the embarrassment and just do it now before we build up our hopes.