President's son is dressed for succession

Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak's son, Gamal, is increasingly seen as a sound alternative to the feared rise to power of the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak's son, Gamal, could succeed him when his term runs out in two years' time.

CAIRO // Despite official denials that Gamal Mubarak, the youngest son of the president, will succeed his father, a growing number of political and religious figures have come out in favour of the succession. The latest, and possibly most surprising, was Hany Enan, a businessman and one of the founders and financiers of Kefaya, the opposition movement which has led a campaign since late 2004 against the president Hosni Mubarak and Gamal's supposed inheritance of the leadership. Mr Enan told ON TV, a privately owned channel, that he supported Gamal's presidency on condition that the constitution be amended to limit the presidency to two six-year terms. Mr Enan, in his early sixties, said he would prefer Gamal to the Muslim Brotherhood, which he said would be a "catastrophe" for Egypt if it came to power and imposed its strict religious views on the secular nation. The Muslim Brotherhood is the strongest and oldest opposition group in Egypt. It has been outlawed since 1954, and there has been an enduring government campaign against the organisation. Unlike the Brotherhood, which recently declared its opposition to Gamal taking over the presidency, the other political parties have mounted little real opposition to the ruling National Democratic Party, headed by Mr Mubarak. Although Mr Enan was a founding member of Kefaya, which means "Enough" in English, he left the group in 2007 and his views were his personal opinions, said Abdel Halim Qandil, a co-ordinator of Kefaya and also one of its founders. "Kefaya will never endorse inheritance of power; this is against our doctrine, which we will never change or forsake. "Accepting or supporting inheritance of power is a moral and political disgrace," he said on Sunday at an iftar held at the Press Syndicate in Cairo. Karima al Hefnawi, another Kefaya leader, drew applause from the audience of mostly opposition figures when she said that the group would continue to push for change. "Twenty years with Mubarak senior are more than enough. What is Gamal's legitimacy? And what could he add to his father's legacy," said Mohammed al Ashqar, 66, who has been imprisoned several times for taking part in Kefaya protests. However, Mr Enan told The National that such attitudes were not practical. "Getting rid of this regime is an imaginary thing, and Gamal Mubarak is coming to power; we have no say in this. "Let's be realistic and demand the things that could happen, like trying to limit the presidency to two terms to be able to hold the president accountable," he said. His comments followed those of Pope Shenouda III, the head of the Coptic church in Egypt, who last month issued a public statement in support of Gamal's candidacy for president. "Some of those whom we thought were among the independents who are opposing Egypt becoming an inherited farm, turned out that they are pro-inheritance of power more than the heir personally," said Wael Qandil, a columnist with the independent al-Shorouk daily, who wrote several columns about this issue. Mr Mubarak, 81, has been in power since 1981 and presidential elections are due in 2011. Unlike his two predecessors, he has never appointed a vice president. When Mr Mubarak was asked by Charlie Rose, an American TV journalist, last month during a visit to Washington if he would like Gamal to succeed him, the president replied: "Look, this was never raised between my son and myself. He started his career in banking with Bank of America, then in London, then he'll return to Egypt. And he was against joining the party and it was only after a long effort that he joined the party. It is not on my mind to have my son inherit me. "It is the decision of the population to elect who would represent the people. It is not for me to decide that. "It is the decision of the people to elect the person who they trust. Who would that person be? "Well, we have a long time. We have still two years to come," Mr Mubarak said. Speculation that Gamal will inherit power has been mounting since 2002, the year he joined the party and rose swiftly through the ranks to become head of the party's policies committee. Earlier this year, Gamal did not object when, during an interview with CNN, he was introduced as the next president of Egypt. But Ali al Din Helal, the chairman of the media committee in the ruling NDP, said "inheritance of power in Egypt is a myth made up by the media and opposition, it is part of political gossip in the country". Some analysts have said the ruling party and loyal journalists were trying to build up Gamal in the public eye as the next president. "The desire for Gamal to succeed his father has increased and has advanced many steps forward," said Hassan Nafaa, a political science professor with Cairo University. "There is concern that the coming two years won't be stable. "Many Egyptians oppose Gamal not for his personality, but they object to being treated like a herd. "People are bitter, and feel as though their will has been violated, which could lead to an explosion on the streets." [e-mail]