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| Le ministre de la Défense, Mohammed Hussein Tantawi, place Tahrir. |
A lot of
rumors and leaks fueled the media, Twitter, and Facebook regarding Hosni Mubarak's speech yesterday. Everyone seemed to think that the Egyptian President was about to step down.
He did not (he has now). How the military acted gave hint to several pundits that they were cutting down their support to Mubarak, so last night's presidential announcement was a disappointment. Then, everyone was anxious about the Communique #2. The top officers had gathered in
Supreme-council format, the third time since the beginning of the current regime, without either Mubarak nor newly-appointed Vice-President Omar Suleiman. That sparked a lot of speculations leading some to believe in a potential military coup.
The second communique is now out and the military has not announced any coup and does not head toward tearing the regime apart. It is very surprising that so many got those two moments wrong, although careful watchers of Egyptian politics would know that optimism was displaced. The military are in the driver's seat, but that may not be such a problematic situation.
