Egypt’s Regime Is Unpopular, But So Is The Opposition

Even if the opposition is able to organize and consolidate both its policies and parties, there is little hope that it will resonate with the mainly rural, religious populace, experts say.

In the crumbling, graffiti-covered streets surrounding Tahrir Square, teenagers hack away at the pavement, breaking it up for rocks to hurl at police.

Gangs of activists wearing ski masks and armed with gasoline-filled bottles run through the maze of streets surrounding the plaza — where the Egyptian revolution of 2011 was born — while denouncing the government of President Mohamed Morsi.

“Morsi has destroyed the country,” says Essam Esawi, 28, in Tahrir Square. “I don’t have food to eat. I don’t have work to do.”

Hatred for Morsi’s regime and his party — the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood known as the Freedom and Justice party — is exhibited throughout the capital. But political rivals of the regime have had little success, allowing the Muslim Brotherhood to enjoy majority power in the parliament despite its low poll ratings.

Morsi’s job approval rating is at an all-time low of 47% according to a March poll by the Egyptian Center for Public Opinion Research.

In addition, Egypt’s Supreme Constitutional Court — the highest court in the country — ruled Sunday that the Islamist-dominated legislature and constitutional panel were illegally elected. The ruling also said the legislature’s upper house, the only one currently sitting, must be dissolved when parliament’s lower chamber is elected later this year or in 2014. The constitutional panel was dissolved after completing the charter.

It was not immediately clear whether the ruling on the 100-member constitutional panel would impact the charter it drafted. The constitution was adopted in a nationwide vote in December with a relatively low turnout of about 35%. But even if it does not, the ruling will question the legitimacy of the disputed charter pushed through by Morsi’s allies.

USA Today