The demonstrations that erupted after a match in Egypt show that the bells of doom have started ringing for Trump's “favorite dictator.” The demonstrations, which have been spreading every day since they broke out, have brought together the social composition of the Jan. 25, 2011 Revolution. From the liberal to the Islamist, from the socialist to the most apolitical youth movements, from workers to civil servants and even to soldiers, Sisi's departure has become the rallying call of an alliance.
Muhammad Ali, an army contractor and film actor, who broadcasts videos from Spain on social media, has stoked the people’s resentment that has been building up for quite some time now. Otherwise, in Egypt, being anti-Sisi has gradually turned into a social consensus, but the high and thick walls of fear that have been built for years have left no room for any sort of people's opposition.
Egypt has become a country where even those who think of the opposition immediately go to jail or have to flee the country. Those who were presidential candidates in the elections, those who thought of becoming candidates, or even those whose names were mentioned in some way because they were likely to be candidates, were immediately arrested and imprisoned. There are still quite a few inmates from the last elections. For example former Chief of General Staff Sami Annan, who was highly respected in the army, was sure to win if he succeeded in running for president. It is now revealed that Annan's supporters within the military also endorsed the popular movement against Sisi.
Sisi led the coup against Muhammad Morsi and made the Ikhwan (Muslim Brotherhood) public enemy number one, but over time he widened the net because he saw all factions of society as a potential threat to him, so much so that even those who had supported him in the coup abandoned him. Sisi's style of administration is irrational and illogical, and his spoiled attitude, which ignores all state practices and interests, has gravely impacted the situation.
His style of administration, which is in no way befitting a statesman's state, is gradually becoming a major security problem for the country. With the decisions he made in international relations alone, he embarked on a path that negatively affected the future of Egypt. In these relations, instead of safeguarding Egypt's interests, Sisi aimed to secure his own personal influence and did not hesitate to give up Egypt's interests to Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) when necessary. This situation is perceived as a serious problem for Egypt in terms of the state's wellbeing.
Under Sisi's rule, Egypt has gone far from pulling the weight it deserves in today's international relations scene, and has suffered a huge blow to its image due to severe human rights violations and President Sisi's unsavory behavior.
Sisi is able to produce the perception of a “cute dictator” against the international actors he feels he is indebted to, and he is despotic and disrespectful to his own people. Even the typical style of reaction he elicits at all the meetings he attended reflects the body language of this disrespect. Sisi, usually sitting at the forefront of crowded saloon meetings, instead of addressing the guests by making eye contact with the podium, insults the attendees whom he addresses.
Moreover, the content of all of these talks will always be ridiculed and seen as tacky. His response to Muhammad Ali's criticism was the last speech that triggered the protests. With extreme arrogance, blurting out a confusing confession by saying “I did, and I will continue to do so. Are palaces meant only for Muhammad Ali?” has stirred public anger that was further exacerbated by his style of talking. Sisi, who thought that he had completely disabled public accountability, was showing that his arrogance has reached its peak.
Of course, a country can only withstand such arrogance for so long. Particularly, it’s impossible to continue through this style of governing indefinitely, which has been extremely costly for Egypt. Today, salvation from Sisi is not only a problem for the oppressed Egyptians whom Sisi has persecuted in the first degree. It has become a problem for all factions of society in Egypt, who long for a better administration and want to steer the country to assume the level it deserves.
For this reason Sisi has become a serious burden and security problem for Egypt.
