Post-Coup, Egypt’s Junta Looks to Assemble an ‘Interim’ Government

New President Sworn In as Egypt Seeks to Maintain the Appearance of Civilian Govt

Following up on yesterday’s coup, Egypt has sworn in its “interim” president, Judge Adly Mansour, and is setting about to assemble an interim cabinet to maintain the pretense of civilian leadership after the military secured power.

Initial indications were that the junta would piece together a civilian council across the political spectrum, but the mass arrest of members of the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), the former ruling party, suggests that pro-Western factions that had little political support will get the high profile spots, while Mubarak-era bureaucrats will make up the rest.

Mohammed ElBaradei would’ve been a choice addition, despite his relatively minor political support. He has enthusiastically supported the coup, but declined the position of Interim Prime Minister, likely in part because the position seems entirely honorary.

Instead of ElBaradei, the position is expected to fall to Farouq el-Oqda, the long-time head of Egypt’s Central Bank. He resigned shortly after President Morsi was elected, and left the job in December.

ElBaradei would’ve been a key figurehead for the junta, someone Western nations could and likely would embrace. The installation of Mubarak-era figures like Oqda may not be a big concern in the West, but could fuel domestic opposition to the coup.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.