Egypt in crisis - Poverty is at the root of revolution

EVEN if President Hosni Mubarak is still in power when the “million man march” planned for today — the eighth day of protest — takes place it is hard to see how very much longer he can cling to office.

Even yesterday’s cabinet reshuffle, which had a familiar air of desperation about it, is unlikely to quench demands for political, social and economic reform. The momentum is such that Mubarak’s 30-year dictatorship cannot last much longer without resorting to the kind of brutality that would further enflame the situation and alienate his international support.

That the former army officer has been in power for three decades is another indication of how America’s commitment to democracy can be flexible if those who bypass the rights so celebrated in America’s constitution trump them by supporting America’s interests in pragmatic, tangible ways. The dynamics of that accommodation were reflected in global markets yesterday when share prices fell across Asia and Brent oil hit a 28-month high on foot of the crisis.