Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood president promises to represent all Egyptians

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood President Mohammed Morsi said all the right words, made all the right noises in his first speech as president.

The trouble is - many don't believe him.

Reuters:

"There is no room now for the language of confrontation nor will there ever be room for accusations of treachery among us," he said. "This national unity is now the route Egypt must take to move itself beyond this difficult period."

He hailed the role of the armed forces, whose generals were praised by Egyptians for pushing aside Mubarak during the uprising but who have faced mounting anger for their handling of the transition. The Brotherhood and others have accused them of trying to hold on to power, despite the generals' denials.

In a bid to broaden his appeal, Morsy had claimed the mantle of the revolution in the run-off against Shafik: "The revolution is continuing until it achieves all its goals. Together we will complete this journey," he said in his address.

Morsy began and ended his speech with religious references, and occasionally veered into a religious style during his 25-minute address. Mubarak always ended speeches with a traditional Islamic farewell, but generally avoided pious language.

Earlier in the day, Israel voiced respect for the Brotherhood's victory in the election and called on the new administration in Cairo to maintain their 1979 peace accord.

"We will uphold international treaties and agreements between Egypt and the world," Morsy said, a nod to Israel although he did not name Egypt's Jewish neighbor.

"We call for peace with the entire world," he said. "But nonetheless Egypt is capable with its people, its men, its armed forces and its great history, to defend itself and prevent any aggression or even any thought of aggression against it or against its children no matter where they are."

How much power Morsi will actually wield is unknown. It doesn't help that during the campaign, there was no more polarizing figure than Morsi who proclaimed "Sharia now" to Islamists and pandered to religious fanatics throughout the race.

The bottom line: As long as Morsi leaves the military alone - doesn't touch their budget, doesn't try to take away their economic power, and leaves national security to the generals - he is likely to get along well with the junta.

If he chooses to challenge the military, he will probably fail in getting the economy moving again which would mean electoral disaster for the Brotherhood at the polls. That's why Morsi will walk a fine line between fulfilling the goals of the revolution and doing the hard, practical work of injecting life into Egypt.



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