Reuters/Cairo


An Islamist minister quit Egypt’s government yesterday, the second cabinet resignation this week, as President Mohamed Mursi tries to shore up his authority and gather support for unpopular austerity measures.
In a move that may pre-empt a planned reshuffle, parliamentary affairs minister Mohamed Mahsoub announced he was quitting because he disagreed with the slow pace of reform.
 “I have reached a clear conclusion that a lot of the policies and efforts contradict my personal beliefs and I don’t see them as representative of our people’s aspirations,” he said in his resignation letter, which has yet to be accepted by the prime minister.
Communications Minister Hany Mahmoud quit earlier this week, citing his inability to adapt to the government’s “working culture”.
Neither were major figures in the cabinet but their decision to criticise the substance and style of Mursi’s administration suggests his decisions are unnerving not just opponents but also some allies.
Earlier yesterday, a Christian member of Egypt’s upper house of parliament, Nadia Henry, quit a day after the Islamist-dominated chamber took over legislative authority under the new constitution.
The charter crafted by an Islamist-dominated assembly is meant to be the cornerstone of a democratic and economically stable Egypt after decades of authoritarian rule. The opposition says it does nothing to protect minorities.
Mursi says the constitution and an upcoming vote to re-elect the lower house of parliament will help end squabbling among feuding politicians.
He and his Muslim Brotherhood allies say ordinary people are fed up with street protests that often turn violent and want the government to focus on urgent bread-and-butter issues.
The strife has cast doubt on the government’s ability to push through the spending cuts and tax hikes needed to secure a vital $4.8bn International Monetary Fund loan.
The Egyptian pound tumbled to its weakest in almost eight years against the dollar this week as people rushed to withdraw savings from banks.
Egypt’s defence chief said the army — which dominated Egypt for decades and has wide ranging business interests — was ready to step in to help the economy.
“The Egyptian economy is going through a very difficult stage,” Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was quoted as saying by state news agency Mena. “The armed forces are keen to participate in development and service projects in all parts of Egypt as part of its promise to serve the great people.”
The resignations come ahead of a promised cabinet reshuffle. Cabinet sources told Reuters as many as eight cabinet members from second-tier ministries might go next week.
Mursi is also promising incentives aimed at making Egypt — once a darling of emerging market investors - an attractive place to do business again.
The 270-seat upper house, or Shura Council, holds legislative authority until a new parliament is elected in early 2013. Opposition figures say they fear the Council could issue laws curbing freedoms.
Henry represents Anglican Christians in Egypt. In a letter published by state media, she said minority groups were not represented properly in the chamber.
Her resignation underscores fears by Egypt’s Christians, who make up about a tenth of its 83mn population, about the gains by Islamists since Mubarak was ousted in 2011.
Mubarak, who was sentenced to life in prison in June, was moved to an army hospital yesterday following a fall that raised concerns about his fragile health.
Under pressure to acknowledge Egypt’s diversity, Mursi appointed 90 members including Christians, liberals and women to the Council —alongside figures from the Muslim Brotherhood and ultra-conservative Salafis — last week. Two-thirds of the upper house were already elected in a vote this year.


Prosecutor orders probe into opposition ‘incitement’
Egypt’s public prosecutor yesterday ordered a probe into the top three leaders of the opposition on suspicion of trying to incite followers to overthrow President Mohamed Mursi, a legal source said.
The prosecutor, Taalat Ibrahim Abdallah, who was appointed by Mursi late last month, signed the order against the leaders of the opposition National Salvation Front, which led protests against Mursi’s drive to have a new constitution adopted.
The probe targets Mohammed ElBaradei, a Nobel peace prize laureate, Amr Moussa, former chief of the Arab League, and Hamdeen Sabbahi, the leader of the nationalist left wing. Moussa and Sabbahi were presidential candidates in June elections that Mursi won.
The National Salvation Front alleged frauds and irregularities in the December 15 and 22 split referendum on the new charter, which Mursi signed into law this week.
It accuses Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood of wanting to use the constitution to introduce creeping strict sharia law.
Abdallah called on Justice Minister Ahmed Mekki to name an investigating magistrate for the probe, which would examine suspicions of “inciting for the overthrow of the regime”.
Mursi on Wednesday hailed the adoption of the new constitution with 64% of the votes in the referendum, though turnout was a low 33%.
Within two months, Egypt has to hold legislative elections to choose a parliament to succeed the one dissolved by the constitutional court in June. The opposition parties in the National Salvation Front coalition are considering competing in the elections on the same ticket.