What’s Mubarak going to say?

Events are moving quickly here in Cairo. Hossam Badrawi, the new head of Egypt’s ruling party, just told BBC that President Hosni Mubarak will "probably" make a statement this evening and hand over some of his powers. Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq said that Mubarak "may" step down. And CNN is reporting that Mubarak will hand ...

Events are moving quickly here in Cairo.

Events are moving quickly here in Cairo.

Hossam Badrawi, the new head of Egypt’s ruling party, just told BBC that President Hosni Mubarak will "probably" make a statement this evening and hand over some of his powers. Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq said that Mubarak "may" step down. And CNN is reporting that Mubarak will hand over control of the military. Right now, the military’s Supreme Council is meeting to discuss the situation. It looks like tonight could be the big night — though it’s far from clear who would assume Mubarak’s authority.

Another possibility is that this is yet another attempt by the regime to undercut the protesters. Everyone here expects huge demonstrations across the country tomorrow, and small strikes have broken out in recent days. Given that every response to the protesters’ demands has thus far been far from serious or adequate, why should we expect anything different now?

UPDATE: A military spokesman popped up to say that the military would meeting regularly to discuss the situation in the country, noting that the people’s demands were "legitimate." Neither Mubarak nor his deputy Omar Suleiman were shown to be present at the meeting. So, are actually witnessing a military coup?

Tag: Egypt

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