Egypt’s President Won’t Accept Unity Government
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AFP/Getty Images(BERLIN) — There will be no unity government in Egypt if President Mohammed Morsi has his way.
With civil unrest growing over the direction of his Islamist regime, Morsi will not allow a new government to take over before the parliamentary elections are held on Feb. 25.
Meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin Wednesday, Morsi says there is currently “a stable government working day and night in the interest of all Egyptians.”
Some in Egypt might question that assessment as demonstrations since late November have often turned violent, with many opposed to Morsi’s determination to rule with a constitution that they fear will turn the country away from the secularist doctrines of former President Hosni Mubarak.
Meanwhile, Morsi was pressed by reporters about comments he made two years ago as head of the Muslim Brotherhood in which he called Zionists “bloodsuckers” and “the descendants of apes and pigs.”
The Egyptian leader again maintained that his responses in two interviews were taken out of context, explaining, “I am not against Jews practicing their religion. I was talking about anybody practicing any religion who spills blood or attacks innocent people — civilians. I criticize such behavior.”
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