Egyptians are disgruntled with President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi
But they are scared of the chaos another uprising would bring
He promised so much. He built a new capital. He cut the Suez Canal through the Sinai desert. He spanned his kingdom with railways and bridges. But Khedive Ismail’s pursuit of modernisation bankrupted Egypt. First he had to sell his prized palaces. Then his stake in the canal went too. Finally Egypt lost its sovereignty altogether. All that remains of the grand palace in the old city of Cairo where he was born in 1830 are mounds of rubble hiding stray dogs and youngsters injecting drugs.
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This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “An unloved and lonely president”
From the June 17th 2023 edition
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