With the way the current course of events in Egypt are going, it seems as if Mubarak will be removed from power and El-Baradei may become the leader of Egypt.
However, there is the problem that an appointment of El-Baradei will seem like an undemocratic move, and El-Baradei may be bound to do things that struggle with his conscience and undermine him among the general Egyptian population, if he is appointed by Mubarak.
In 1975, with Franco of Spain dying, he appointed Juan Carlos as his successor - the grandson of the former king. As Franco was theoretically a regent, in the same practice as Miklos Horthy for the absent Habsburg emperor in Hungary from the 1920s - 1944, this move had legitimacy to those who supported Franco's faction among the Spanish population and the governing elite.
As we know, Juan Carlos went on to reintroduce democracy into Spain and retreat from power, and in doing so, won himself legitimacy and respectability among the population with regards to having a monarch. This may or may not have been Franco's intention to begin with.
So, the question is: who is Egypt's Juan Carlos? Perhaps a general in Mubarak's clique with true democratic aspirations for Egypt, who can be appointed by Mubarak to save face for himself, and save face for El-Baradei when/if he takes power. This man could then retreat to being the head of the Egyptian military as a hallowed figure who surrendered power and allied himself to the democratic forces at work in Egypt.
However, there is the problem that an appointment of El-Baradei will seem like an undemocratic move, and El-Baradei may be bound to do things that struggle with his conscience and undermine him among the general Egyptian population, if he is appointed by Mubarak.
In 1975, with Franco of Spain dying, he appointed Juan Carlos as his successor - the grandson of the former king. As Franco was theoretically a regent, in the same practice as Miklos Horthy for the absent Habsburg emperor in Hungary from the 1920s - 1944, this move had legitimacy to those who supported Franco's faction among the Spanish population and the governing elite.
As we know, Juan Carlos went on to reintroduce democracy into Spain and retreat from power, and in doing so, won himself legitimacy and respectability among the population with regards to having a monarch. This may or may not have been Franco's intention to begin with.
So, the question is: who is Egypt's Juan Carlos? Perhaps a general in Mubarak's clique with true democratic aspirations for Egypt, who can be appointed by Mubarak to save face for himself, and save face for El-Baradei when/if he takes power. This man could then retreat to being the head of the Egyptian military as a hallowed figure who surrendered power and allied himself to the democratic forces at work in Egypt.
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