JUNTA RULE IN EGYPT

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27307, 25 March 1954, Page 11

JUNTA RULE IN EGYPT

‘Moral Authority Wasting Away’ (Rec. 8.30 p.m.) LONDON. March 24. “By far the most dangerous feature of the Egyptian situation is the growing weakness of the junta Government,’’ says the Cairo correspondent of the “Daily Telegraph.’’ “Since its ‘double somersault’ three weeks ago the moral authority of this regime has been rapidly wasting away. In theory the junta is eager to. hand over its power to some democraticallyresponsible government at the earliest possible moment. General Naguib himself yesterday reiterated that he would not stand for the Presidency of the permanent Republic. “ ‘My only task,’ he said, ‘is to guide my country to the shore of safety and hand it over to her people.’ “The trouble is that neither General Naguib nor the younger officers who at one time thought they could do without hiih have the least idea of how to make the shore or to find the people. The means of choosing a democratic government fairly are simply not available. Meanwhile such authority as the junta is capable of handing over to this government is daily growing less. Day after day the junta meets and day after day it defers the announcement of the plan for ‘the return to constitutional government? “These soldiers bereft both of political experience and a political machine, do not know where to turn for help in establishing their ‘revolution’ on a permanent and popular basis. “All the skilled politicians in the country are against them and are only waiting the opportunity to turn ‘constitutionalism’ to their own account. Their traditional parties are nominally suppressed, but already they seem to dominate the forthcoming elections even before it is known what form they will take.’’