Now, Hints from ‘Amr Moussa

Now Arab League Secretary General ‘Amr Moussa is not ruling himself out of the race for the Presidency in Egypt. (For those who read Arabic, here's the original interview in Al-Shuruq that Reuters is quoting.) Though at 73 he is not a young man, he does have an Arab world reputation and long served as Egypt's Foreign Minister.

What I think is worth noting is that there has been a sea change in the willingness of the Egyptian media (the independent press anyway) to discuss the succession question and report on the various anybody-but-Gamal efforts (though Moussa clearly indicates Gamal has a chance too — well, as clearly as a diplomat who has to speak for the whole Arab League is ever allowed to be, anyway).

In part I think the discussion of alternatives to Gamal — the Baradei, ‘Omar Suleiman, and now ‘Amr Moussa discussions — represent a real assumption that Husni Mubarak will step down, and perhaps also an assumption on many people's part that we may not have two more years before something happens. There have been rumors of an early Presidential election sometime in 2010 for some time now. The discussion — which would have been taboo a couple of years ago — shows that there really is a fin du règne sense out there.