This is very strange. For all members of Parliament and all citizens in Egypt, except the traitors, should support the Egyptian state anyway.
The problem is that this coalition was formed to support the president himself and not the Egyptian state. There is a big difference between the two. For the president’s views are not always right. He should be told when he is wrong.
A member of Parliament should not support the president unconditionally. He should support and defend the interests of the people who elected him.
For example, if the government is undertaking some national project, a member of Parliament should ask if that project is in the interest of the economy or not. Would it negatively affect the poor? Would it restrict freedoms? Would it discriminate between classes or would it achieve equality? Would it violate the Constitution or would it circumvent it to please the president?
A member of Parliament who truly loves Egypt is not necessarily part of the For the Love of Egypt list. He should vote for what really benefits the country, not for what pleases the president. At the end of the day, the president is a human being who may make mistakes. Also, his advisers may not be efficient enough for a country the size of Egypt.
The president does not need a coalition that supports him all the way. He needs someone to correct his decisions if they are taken spontaneously and without deliberation, such as the decision to reduce the deadline for the new Suez Canal from three years to one year without considering the enormous costs that it would entail.
He who loves Egypt should request the president to submit feasibility studies for the new capital and for the project to cultivate 1.5 million acres with groundwater.
Many laws were passed under the military council, the Muslim Brotherhood, interim President Adly Mansour and President Sisi that are in violation of the Constitution, some of which discriminate against certain social classes, restrict freedoms and violate international human rights conventions. Those who love Egypt should change these laws.
Egypt has been here forever, yet some have degraded it over the years by personifying it in the form of a king or a president.
The question is: Does the For the Love of Egypt list really love Egypt, or does it only please the president because it loves itself?
I personally know some members of the list who do love Egypt and who have the dignity and honor to review their conscience before voting for a certain bill. But there are others who support the president — any president — at all times, whether he is right or wrong.
____________________________________
Dr El-Ghar is chair of the Egyptian Democratic Party. Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm. http://www.egyptindependent.com//opinion/does-love-egypt-list-really-love-egypt