The destruction of the egyptian opposition

A while ago i put a post up that discussed the state of opposition parties in egypt, and why the public is so apathetic towards them. Most of them don't have a vision, or a plan of their own for the country, and most of the party heads have stayed party heads for almost as long as Mubarak has stayed in power. That very much suits the people in power because as long as there is no viable opposition to them but the islamists, they can claim to be the best choice out there to rule the country, or at least the lesser of two evils. Unfortunately, this all changed when Hezb-elghad (The Party of tomorow) was established. The party is a capitalistic, pro -US, liberterian party that had both muslims and christians in leadership position and that emerged as the biggest and main party of opposition to the ruling sociliatic National Democratic party. Ever since they started calling for political reforms and the curbing of the president powers, they started becoming the target of all the powers that be and their cronies and for good reason: They make them look bad. Now, i know how i wrote here that the arrest of the party leader Ayman Nur was just a distraction tactic used by the people in power, and i stick to that opinion, but something else might also be at work here. It actually seems that the people in power are actually really scared of that new party, and the efect that it may cause. Here is what i mean: Egyptians are protesting the fact that Mubarak is running for a second term out in the open; every taxi driver i spoke to has told me how they are really angry that they arrested Nur and how the man is really a good man that didn't deserve this. Add to that the anouncment by the egyptian Atorney General in the newspapers that assured everyone that Nur's arrest is for criminal investigation purposes and warned anyone who tries to "insinuate otherwise" and the arrest of Moussa Mustafa Moussa, deputy head of el Ghad party and you have yourself facing the reality that they are trying their hardest to destroy that party because it really really scares them. Some people will ask, why would the egyptian government be scared of that party? They are in power, they control the armed forces and the press. What could they possibly fear from one little party that has only 5 seats in the egyptian parliment? What's really at stake here? Ehh.. their legitimacy? Bare with me on this. The egyptian government was able to get washington support for years by claiming to be the lesser of two evils. That there is not a single legitimate opposition except the islamist and "you know you don't want them in power", they would always leer. But now, you have not only an opposition party with a clear mandate, but one that is more pro- US and democracy then the NDP. A party that washington would have no problem or moral dilemmas backing, which isn't the case with the current ruling party. Without Washington's support and their yearly aid bail money, the egyptian government would find itself on very shaky ground and they may become seriously pressured to commit to actual reforms the same way the Saudis are. Without Washington's backing, everyone would "all of a sudden" recognize that the current egyptian government is an illegitimate tyrannical outpost, and that's not a good thing to be these days. They can't afford that. So, in their eyes, it's better to tear the newly born threat to shreds before it gains momentum using bullshit accusations, then have that party grow and challange the ruling party in elections, which they know they would lose if they are legitimate. I am just saying...