Pray for an Egyptian Lee Kuan Yew

The Egyptian political scene so far looks desolate.

There are too many feeble political parties. They have not been able to come up with an ideology appealing to the masses. None of our existing parties can put forth a candidate of their own for the upcoming presidential elections. None of them have the funds to support a presidential candidate. None of them have the funds to win a majority in the next parliamentary elections.

These parties are not to blame. It takes time for political leaders to mature and recognize how the political game needs to be played.

This does not bode well for Egypt. Why?

Sixty five percent of our population is below the age of thirty five.  Some people see it as a problem. I see it as a gold mine. They need to be given hope and nobody is giving them that. Neither a political party nor a presidential candidate has been able to appeal to our youth.

We luckily now have a constitution which unambiguously defines his or her role, and limiting the term to two four year terms. This might be the first ray of hope that things might be on track. Yet the majority of our youth didn't vote for it. Skeptical as they may be, I foresee it will one day be an invaluable tool in their hands. This is how they will keep our leaders in check.

Therefore, we now must only wait for our presidential elections and hope and pray that our next President is a Lee Kuan Yew. I hope our candidates study this Singaporean leader well. This man managed to rescue Singapore from desolation. He turned it into an Asian economic powerhouse and a vibrant democracy. In this day and age we however can do well without his caning policies and unique autocratic idiosyncrasies. 

The only difference between our future Egyptian president and Lee Kuan Yew (apart from one being a constitutional president and the other a prime minister) is the decade in which they will govern. Mr. Yew didn't have tech savvy, internet connected, social media linked, politically opinionated, and this many economically deprived youth. Ours will. After both revolutions of 25 January and 30 June we all know what our youth are adept at.

I hope our presidential candidates make sure to address the needs and aspirations of our youth as a top priority in their programs. For them employment is their urgent and most imminent need, and a move towards oppression their worst fear. They need a well-defined economic program that will employ the maximum number of our young women and men. They need clear programs of future democratization.

The candidate then may be, may be, able to win over the trust and hearts of our youth.