"You don't run things around here!"

The resignation of Ibrahim Saedah, the editor in chief of the state-owned Al-Akhbar newspaper, came as a suprise to everyone involved. Ibrahim, like the other editors in chief of state-owned newspapers like Al Ahram and al Akhbar, has been drawing a lot of fire and criticism from the independent newspapers for being the President's lackeys and staying in charge way after they reached the legal retirment age of 65 years old. His resignation, to many people's surprise, was rejected by Safwat El Sherief, the former Minister of Media and the head of the Shura council: Seada's move, however, drew mixed reactions. El-Sherif, for one, finally spoke up. In a televised interview, he said the editors had been kept on board because "Egypt's national interests required that they remain in their positions. The board chairmen and editors did not impose themselves on anyone. They stayed on because the Shura Council decided that domestic and regional political developments required stability on that front." The editors would stay where they were, El-Sherif said, until the selection process for new candidates was through. This, however, didn't surprise me at all, for three main reasons : 1) The timing issue: there is no way in hell they would bring a new editor in chief and let an old trusted lackey go with the election being so close; 2) The backstabbing issue: El Sherief is one of the old guard, and he is still sour over being replaced from his post as the minister of media by Suzanne Mubarak's lackey Annas el feqqy, who lets face it, has been doing a horrible job as it is and this issue gives Safwat a great opprutunity to undermine him even further. The third and final reason is 3) The autonomy issue: No one, and i mean no one, of the people who hold power posts in the egyptian government, is allowed any kind of autonomy or independence when it comes to their jobs, and that involves leaving it. No one placed in power by the president in egypt gets to resign, they have to be fired, cause "you ain't gonna make the other incompetent fools look bad by doing the honorable thing and resigning." No one in this country is allowed to resign with his honor and dignity in tact, they have to be thrown out in disgrace, and they are likely to get thrown out if they actually try to do their job or actually stand against corruption. No one is allowed to shine, look more honorable or be more popular then the president, let alone respond to the will of the people, cause they don't run things around here. The power elite does. This is the way things work around here, so it's of little or no wonder that nothing ever works at all.