The key question in Egypt, and I think despite more coverage of both the Syrian conflict and Iran's nuclear issue, the key question right now in the Middle East is what will Egypt's new constitution look like. How much power will the Egyptian people have, what powers to set policy, if any, will the military retain to protect Israel from Egypt's voters?
We don't know how powerful Egypt's parliament will be after the transfer of power, but we know Egypt's voters have decided that Islamists will have a dominant voice in that body. Mohamed ElBaradei, much to his credit, has expressed absolutely no anxiety over this reality.
Some are skeptical about the influence of the Islamists. After decades of banishment from the political scene, they have no experience in governing. Before the revolution, we fought together; in the new Egypt, we have differing perspectives. On the eve of January 28 last year, two of their leaders were arrested leaving my home. One is now the speaker of the parliament. I called him to wish him success. I predict the Islamists will embrace other political factions, support free markets and be pragmatic.I'm still optimistic that efforts to prevent the people of Egypt from controlling the policy set by their government will fail. It looks like in that I am in agreement with ElBaradei.
