Who will benefit from the chaos? (The Economist)

– “QUICK-WITTED street vendors in Cairo’s Tahrir Square have enjoyed a steady, if dwindling trade in revolutionary flags and stickers since mass protests toppled the regime of Hosni Mubarak in February. In recent days souvenir tat has given way to a hotter-selling item. With riot-police spewing choking clouds of tear-gas round the clock, and Tahrir’s resilient crowds of protesters again swelling into hundreds of thousands, the market for cheap, Chinese-made gas masks has proved rewardingly brisk.

Egypt’s rulers, on the other hand, seem sorely lacking in such street wisdom. When the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), a body of 24 generals, assumed power in the wake of Mr Mubarak’s fall, Egyptians by and large expressed joy and relief. The council promised sweeping reforms, a swift return to stability and a prompt transition to elected civilian rule.

Instead, the country has lurched from crisis to crisis. In the absence of either a clear political horizon or bold, pragmatic policies, the economy has stumbled into a morass, even as the generals stretched their timetable for democracy from months to years, and hinted that even then they expected to retain a dominant role.”

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