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(Opinion) Egypt Elections: A Very Cruel Irony

For all the deserved fanfare over the first free elections held in Egyptian history, it has provided a cruel slap in the face for anybody who risked it all to make this election possible. Egypt now face a choice between candidates who represent the Muslim brotherhood and Mubarak era, which would force a chuckle if the consequences of this runoff  were not destined to be tragic.

However this is no shock as the Egypt revolution was more of an event than a organised political movement prepared to cease power through democratic means.This is because there was no real agenda other than getting rid of the Mubarak regime and not what came next. There was no party, program or organisation to mobilize the critical mass of Egypt hungry for change except for organisations that were indifferent to the revolution or against it outright.

The Muslim brotherhood and pro-Mubarak groups, which mostly emanate from the military, were and are the only groups who could gain mass support and were ready to take power. This election reveals how deep the revolution penetrated within Egypt as it now looks like the revolution was only favored in city centers.

This now presents a nightmare for other nations looking to deal with Egypt, especially the United States as a Muslim brotherhood win would mean the relationship between Egypt and the US looks set to be hostile to say the least and a win for the pro-Mubarak candidate would provide a tricky problem of reconciliation which will make the United States look hypocritical.

Protests may return to Egypt's city streets over the result of this election as they fear the revolution may be over before it started. However the proponents of the revolution seemed to underestimate the propensity of democratic elections to produce politically inconvenient results.  There is no better example than when the US actively encouraged democratic elections in Palestine and ended with the irony of an democratically elected Hamas.This happens because pro democratic groups pay no attention to existing political dynamics and the compromises to succeed.

There are many interests and relationships in Egyptian politics to which proponents of the revolution appealed to none. Liberal tendencies heavily underestimated the law and order vote made relevant by the confusion and conflict of the revolution itself. They instead sought to appeal for needed economic reform and growth which other candidates had also stated their plans for growth and development.

because of these flaws, Egyptians now face cruel choice its long endured past and it worse nightmare as there is certainly going to be future conflict regardless who ends up in office whether over cultural and religious issues or issues to do with personal freedom as a pro-Mubarak regime will likely tighten its grip.

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(Opinion) who would be EURO 2012 host Nation ?

While there are expected pressures when playing host to a major football tournament, Ukraine couldn't have expected the amount of pressure put on them.Ukraine has been especially targeted for serious pressure as their racist hooliganism problem has been bought into the light thanks to a classic expose from the flagship BBC programme panorama where former England defender Sol Campbell warned fans to stay away as the chance of being attacked were likely.

However their problems were mounting some time before the programme when the families of two black England players stated their intention not to attend the championship matches in Ukraine for fear of attack and the UK foreign office put out a press statement basically insisting British citizens of Black and Asian descent to watch their back, front and sides.

Questions over whether they actually host the event have worsened with extra  spotlight lent to the political dynamic in the country the current leader of Ukraine is publicly trying to bury his predecessor which has led to calls for a boycott of the tournament, which can explain the relatively large surplus of tickets that have not been purchased.

This is made worse as  fellow hosting nation Poland have a much more stable political dynamic and are members of the EU despite football hooliganism being arguably worse in Poland than it is in Ukraine. While Ukraine's problems pitch side are being held to scrutiny, the pluses of hosting an event of this size in Ukraine  are being overlooked. Ukraine has failed in selling its fantastic culture, cities and its strong footballing tradition with their clubs regularly competing with the best Europe has to offer, which is more than could be said for World Cup 2022 hosts Qatar.

In sum, Ukraine's problems with regards to racist and violent football hooliganism is no secret and a number of nations attending the event have a similar problem, some even on a greater scale. The concern over Ukraine political dynamic is worth noting but it should not overshadow the pluses of hosting this great football event in a football mad nation.