I wish I could be more enthusiastic about the events in Egypt and Tunisia – but,
as I say in my
News of the World column (£) today, the citizens of the Arab world all too often have a choice between a Bad Guy and a Worse Guy. Egypt looks like its choice is between the status quo,
the Muslim Brotherhood or a military coup. This is not a 1989-style revolution, there is no Arabic equivalent of Scorpions singing Wind of
Change. Successful revolutions normally have a well-organised alternative government, with a clear route towards democracy. Where is the Egyptian Lech Walesa, or the Tunisian Vaclav Havel?
Many, especially on the left, believe that popular revolutions have their own momentum – and that the action of ‘the people’ over an oppressor will by necessity lead to progress.
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