Egypt: Lucky Gamal

Bells rang in the lobbies of Cairo’s domed National Assembly one evening, and its 360 members scurried to their seats to hear a special message from President Gamal Abdel Nasser. It was time, Nasser had written, for Parliament to decide who will be the next President. Noting that his current term expires March 25, he urged the Assembly to nominate “whomever it sees fit.” Almost as if he were considering retirement, Nasser declared: “I consider my self lucky to have had the honor of participating in public service.”

According to the official newspaper Al Ahram, the Assembly was “stunned into moments of solemn silence” by Nasser’s words, but did he really mean to quit? Well, hardly. Under Nasser’s constitution the President may succeed himself, and Nasser pointedly failed to rule himself out as a draft choice for renomination. His message got through. Suddenly the Assembly was flooded by a deluge of telegrams, petitions and let ters urging Nasser’s renomination. Visitors descended on the chamber, hurrying to get their support down in writing in the guest book. One entry attested that “The Ministry of the Interior and the Supreme Police Council, which employ 150,000 persons and keep a vigilant eye on the security and safety of the nation, express their full faith in President Nasser.”

Though Nasser has hinted that some time he might turn the presidency over to someone else and devote full time to running his Arab Socialist Union party, the hour has probably not arrived. The betting is that Egypt’s 13-year leader will be renominated unanimously by his rubber-stamp Assembly, then re-elected by his usual 99% -plus majority.