Egypt

This leaves Egypt polarised. Many of its people are sceptical of, if not hostile to, the Muslim Brotherhood, the secretive society that raised Mr Morsi and to which he owes allegiance. Even advisers and fellow-Islamists have distanced themselves from the president. United for once, leaders of Egypt’s secular opposition, including Mr ElBaradei, have vowed to fight.

Nile desperandum

Mr Morsi, like the vast majority of Egyptians, professes to want a stable democracy. He and his party, whose instinctive mistrust for outsiders was ingrained by decades of oppression, must understand that a strong showing in a single election does not entitle the Brotherhood to monopolise the drafting of a constitution that will govern Egypt for years.

Ideally Mr Morsi would even now step back from this disastrous path. At the least, he should try to salvage a shred of legitimacy. This means ensuring that the forthcoming constitutional referendum is free and fair. Mr Morsi can go down in history either as the leader who guided Egypt towards stability, or as the man who scotched its chances of a decent future. Just now it looks as if he has chosen infamy.

from the print edition | Leaders

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