This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/25/world/middleeast/egypts-prime-minister-resigns.html

The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Egypt’s Prime Minister and Cabinet Abruptly Resign Egypt’s Prime Minister and Cabinet Abruptly Resign
(about 5 hours later)
CAIRO — Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi abruptly announced the resignation of his government on Monday, after seven turbulent months of trying to contain Egypt’s political unrest and growing criticism of the cabinet’s performance. CAIRO — Egypt’s prime minister surprised members of his cabinet on Monday by abruptly announcing the resignation of the military-backed government, which had struggled to manage the country over seven months of political unrest and growing criticism of its performance.
Mr. Beblawi was installed as prime minister last July by the military soon after it ousted the country’s Islamist president, Mohamed Morsi. His resignation on Monday fueled speculation that it was intended to clear the way for Field Marshal Abdul-Fattah el-Sisi, the defense minister and the dominant figure in the government, to announce his candidacy for president. The prime minister, Hazem el-Beblawi, who was appointed last July soon after the military ousted the country’s Islamist president, Mohamed Morsi, did not give any reasons for the decision or explain its timing. Quickly, though, there was speculation that it was somehow intended to clear the way for Field Marshal Abdul-Fattah el-Sisi, the defense minister and the dominant figure in the government, to announce his candidacy in the coming presidential election.
The interim government led by Mr. Beblawi has faced persistent questions about its authority and legitimacy ever since it was installed. During its tenure, the military and the security services embarked on a ferocious campaign to suppress Mr. Morsi’s supporters and other rivals and foes, resulting in the worst mass killings in modern Egyptian history. Yet like many of the decisions emanating from Egypt’s top echelons these days, Mr. Beblawi’s precise motives remained opaque — even to members of his own government. One minister said he was called into a meeting on Monday after the regular Tuesday cabinet meeting was rescheduled.
Despite infusions of cash from Persian Gulf states meant to prop up Egypt’s economy, a wave of labor strikes emerged as the latest challenge to Mr. Beblawi, affecting a number of crucial groups, including police officers, textile workers, doctors and transportation employees. “I walked in this morning,” he said. “The resignation statement was read. I left.” Mr. Beblawi “didn’t talk about the reasons,” he said.
Even though the government was under considerable pressure, one minister said the announcement came as a complete surprise. It was made after a cabinet was convened a day earlier than had been scheduled. “I walked in this morning; the resignation statement was read; I left,” the minister said. It was not immediately clear who would replace the departed ministers, and it remained possible that several would be reappointed to their jobs. State news media reported that they would continue to oversee their ministries until a new government was seated.
Speaking on television afterward, Mr. Beblawi complained about the strikes and “personal interests.” He also said, “This is the time to put the country’s interests above everyone.” The government, a caretaker administration that was drafted to manage the country until elections could be held, presided over the most turbulent period in recent memory. It was quickly tested as thousands of supporters of Mr. Morsi held sit-ins in Cairo, calling for the ousted president’s return.
While he allowed that the government had not achieved “complete success” in his tenure, he asserted that the state’s “prestige” had been restored, mentioning the ratification of a new constitution. Swayed by hard-liners including the interior minister, Mohamed Ibrahim, the government responded with brutal force, killing hundreds of demonstrators and imprisoning thousands of other opponents.
“The police and the armed forces impose the power of law on everybody,” he added. “That doesn’t mean that there aren’t disruptions here and there, but this is a normal in a fierce confrontation with a side that doesn’t want good things for the country.” Officials successfully held a referendum to approve a new Egyptian Constitution, but any sense of achievement has been largely overshadowed by the country’s economic struggles, which have persisted despite infusions of cash from Egypt’s allies in the Persian Gulf.
It was not immediately clear who would replace the ministers who had resigned. State news media reported that they would continue to oversee their ministries until a new government was seated. Militants have intensified a deadly campaign against the government, attacking security officers and installations, and even tourists, with relative ease. And the government’s crackdown has broadened to include non-Islamist activists, as well as academics and journalists.
Field Marshal Sisi, who is seen as Egypt’s most popular political figure, has yet to formally declare that he will run for president, but people who have met with him recently speak of his candidacy as a foregone conclusion. When an Egyptian delegation visited Russia this month, President Vladimir V. Putin wished Field Marshal Sisi luck in his campaign. A wave of labor strikes emerged as the latest challenge to Mr. Beblawi, affecting a number of crucial sectors, including police officers, textile workers, doctors and transportation employees.
In a statement, Egypt’s interim president, Adly Mansour, credited Mr. Beblawi with taking the job “at a time when the burden of the nation’s problems, which had accumulated over decades, was immense, both in terms of economic deterioration and marginalization of a number of different segments of society.”
Speaking on television on Monday, Mr. Beblawi complained about the strikes and said it was “the time to put the country’s interests above everyone.” And while he allowed that the government had not achieved “complete success,” he asserted that the state’s “prestige” had been restored.
“The police, and the armed forces behind them, impose the power of law on everybody,” he added. “That doesn’t mean that there aren’t disruptions here and there, but this is a normal in a fierce confrontation with a side that doesn’t want good things for the country.”
Hassan Nafaa, a political-science professor at Cairo University, said a cabinet reshuffle had been inevitable for some time, because of vacancies or anticipated resignations, but the dissolution of the entire government was a surprise.
It was possible that the prime minister simply became fed up with the strikes and protests and decided to resign on his own, he said. The second possibility was that he had been removed by his superiors, including Mr. Mansour and Field Marshal Sisi, in the hope that it might help “calm things down for the presidential elections,” which are expected soon though a date has yet to be announced.
The field marshal is seen as the front-runner, though he has yet to formally declare his candidacy. People who met with him treat it as a foregone conclusion, including President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, who recently wished Field Marshal Sisi luck in his campaign.