From almost complete support to charges of failure and warnings of the anger of the poor ranged the assessments of journalists and politicians of the performance of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi a year after his inauguration.
Hazem Abdel Azim
Political activist Hazem Abdel Azim, who was a member of Sisi's electoral campaign, has joined the opposition. He said he would vote for a civilian president in 2018.
He said in a tweet that Sisi prefers loyalty to efficiency.
He also said that he disapproves of the fact that the detained young people of the January 25 revolution have not been released, while those of the Muslim Brotherhood group have.
In another tweet, he said he did not like what Sisi told German Chancellor Angela Merkel about the capital punishments of the Brotherhood members not being final, then said something different when he came back to Egypt.
He criticized Sisi for admitting that there are many people unjustly jailed, wondering how he could get any sleep knowing that.
But Mostafa Bakry, an ardent supporter of Sisi, said Abdel Azim, who was nominated for the Communications Ministry at the time when the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces was ruling the country, only said so because Sisi did not appoint him in a certain senior post that he wishes to take. “He who had entered into a partnership with the Zionists in a telecommunications company is an enemy of the state by default,” Bakry tweeted about Abdel Azim.
Ibrahim Eissa
In his program 25/30 on ONTV, Ibrahim Eissa began to show an opposing attitude to Sisi, saying he is not democratic. “We cannot say the president is good but the government is bad because Sisi is primarily responsible for his administration,” Eissa said.
“You won 97 percent of the votes in elections you had voluntarily run for, yet you talk as if you were compelled to be where you are now,” he said. “Asking us to give you more time is not good enough. You should be continuously supervised by a parliament and by the people.”
He added that Sisi often talks about supporting the youth, whereas his Interior Ministry jails and tortures them.
He accused the government of supporting terrorism rather than fighting. “We have so many government institutions that serve as an incubating environment for terrorism,” he said.
Khaled Youssef
Khaled Youssef, a member of the Sisi’s electoral campaign, warned of the impatience of the poor from neglection.
“The poor and the youth have not felt any positive change,” he said. “The problem is now snowballing.”
Youssef al-Husseiny
Youssef al-Husseiny had voted for Sisi. Now he is taking a step back, saying Sisi is not above criticism. He holds Sisi responsible for the government's failure. “In a presidential system, the president is responsible, not parliament,” he said.
Wahid Hamed and Abdallah al-Sinawi
Scriptwriter Wahid Hamed, who had said Egypt needs Sisi, told Al-Masry Al-Youm that he is dissatisfied with the president’s performance. “We are not going in the right direction,” said. “Decisions are slow and unstudied.”
Columnist Abdallah al-Sinawi demanded Sisi to reform the police, support the youth and achieve social justice.
He said Sisi has no clear vision or strategy, which made the remnants of the dissolved National Democratic Party appear again in the political life.
