“Morsi cannot take on the military establishment now. But he can restructure
the interior ministry to remove the networks of interests that hold it
together,” political analyst Mohamed Soffar said.

Excerpts: Egypt: Morsi, Army strive for control July 06, 2012

+++SOURCE: Jordan Times 6 June'12:" Egypt army salutes Morsi; both strive
for control",Reuters
SUBJECT:Egypt: Morsi, Army strive for control
QUOTE:" 'It is a dance of the scorpions' . . .between Morsi's team and the
military leadership"
Backgrounder:
FULL TEXT:CAIRO — Seated between Egypt’s two top generals, newly elected
Islamist President Mohamed Morsi oversaw a passing out parade of military
recruits on Thursday[5 July] in a rigidly choreographed scene that could
almost have been taken from the era of Hosni Mubarak.

Yet beneath the formalities, a more subtle game is at play as two long-time
adversaries size each other up for what is likely to be an Islamist war of
attrition to scale back the influence of an army that has ruled the nation
for 60 years.

Morsi, propelled into office with the first real popular mandate in Egypt’s
history, saw his powers trimmed on the eve of victory by generals as wary of
Islamists as their old commander in chief Mubarak, ousted last year in a
popular revolt.

The new president has quickly fallen in step with the displays of military
pomp that are a fixture of Egyptian national life, even though the armed
forces have given him no influence over their affairs.

The government he is trying to form could leave the most powerful ministries
in the hands of the army, which also has the last word on new laws since it
disbanded the lower house of a parliament dominated by Morsi’s Muslim
Brotherhood, following a court ruling that found fault in the voting
process.

In the eight decades since it was formed, the Brotherhood has mostly avoided
outright confrontation with those in power and Morsi looks likely to uphold
the tradition — working below the radar to make gradual inroads into a
monolithic state.

“It’s a dance of the scorpions between the two of them,” said a senior state
official, commenting on the developing dynamic between Morsi’s team and the
military leadership.

Officially, the army has taken control of Morsi’s future powers by handing
itself veto power over a new constitution.

But the president’s popular mandate gives him a strong hand to demand enough
power to tackle corruption and poverty and restore stability, all demands of
those who led the uprising that toppled former air force commander Mubarak.

One Western diplomat said Morsi was acknowledging the need for compromise by
accepting what he called an “imperfect presidency” that was still better
than none at all.It was, he said, “part of Egypt’s new political
cohabitation”.

Whether that struggle for influence has succeeded may only emerge long after
the constitution is approved and depends on whether Morsi can assert his
authority over an inefficient bureaucracy marred by corruption.

Morsi already changed some presidency staff and security officers. He has
met the heads of the state finance and audit bodies to call for more
transparency and better management, according to a senior aide to the
president.

For now, he and the Brotherhood seem to be going along with the army’s
plans. One senior Brotherhood official suggested the military was expected
to keep control of defence, interior and foreign affairs in a government to
be formed in coming days.

“They will continue to be run as they have before,” the official close to
the movement’s leadership, who asked not to be named, said of the
ministries.

But he added that gradual reforms were expected at the interior ministry,
which has been the target of widespread criticism because of tough police
tactics in Mubarak’s era.

However, the final shape of the Cabinet has yet to appear and the
Brotherhood has said it will work with Islamist allies, Christians, liberals
and others to form a coalition government.

The group, from which Morsi has formally resigned his membership, has also
said repeatedly it wants to avoid a confrontation with the army.

Brotherhood officials have also said it will take years before the army
exits politics.

“Morsi cannot take on the military establishment now. But he can restructure
the interior ministry to remove the networks of interests that hold it
together,” political analyst Mohamed Soffar said.

Morsi, once held prisoner by Mubarak’s state security, swept into a military
base on the Mediterranean in Alexandria on Thursday in a large black
motorcade to witness a spectacular display of rank-and-file discipline and
military hardware, a portion of an arsenal partly paid for by the US.

Helicopters swooped overhead, missiles were cranked skywards, flares burst
and hundreds of marines showed off their close-combat martial art skills in
time to a military band.

The bearded president, wearing a grey suit, was flanked by the head of the
armed forces, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, and his chief of staff Sami
Enan.

Morsi, his face betraying little emotion, exchanged a few words with the
76-year-old Tantawi, who offered him tips on parade protocol and attaching
medals to troop uniforms.

Explaining its reluctance to hand over full powers to Morsi, a member of the
military council that ran Egypt since Mubarak’s overthrow said the army had
to “contain the revolution and make sure it does not bring down the state”.

“We do not want to be like neighbouring countries that have gone unstable
after toppling their leader,” he said.

The senior Brotherhood official suggested the new Cabinet could contain some
figures from the Mubarak era to ensure continuity and a transfer of
governing know-how.

For now, he said, the Brotherhood was dropping its demand that the army
reinstate the parliament that Islamists dominated before it was dissolved by
the supreme court ruling. The generals will be able to veto any laws
proposed by Morsi.

“There were talks to bring back parliament but at this juncture this will
not be possible,” the official said.

Other Islamists have suggested there could be efforts to ensure that only a
portion of the seats in the assembly would have to go for re-election as the
dissolution of the entire chamber has been challenged in another court.

The power play since Mubarak’s overthrow suggests Egypt is moving steadily
towards a Turkey-style accommodation between a powerful army and an Islamist
movement that gradually shifts its people into the institutions of
government.

Senior Brotherhood figures have met with officials in Turkey’s ruling
Islamist AK Party, which took office in 2002 but must still find ways to
accommodate the demands of a powerful military seeking to uphold the country’s
secular tradition.

Egyptian General Mamdouh Shahin said there was no question that the army
would decide the future balance of power.

“The constitutional decree remains the exclusive authority of the military
council. Nothing will change this,” he told Reuters, adding that, for now,
the army would act as a balance between the government and the president.

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Sue Lerner - Associate, IMRA