Katatni: government reshuffle not answer

The speaker of Egypt's parliament has said an expected cabinet reshuffle will not do much to soothe ties between MPs and the interim government set by Egypt's ruling military council. Saad Katatni said: "The cabinet reshuffle is expected to change five ministers, according to media reports, but it does not solve disagreements between the parliament and government."  Katatni told the Egyptian newspaper Al Ahram on Tuesday that the parliament's objection of the government did not mean it was against the people, but opposed policies and programmes. "The basic mission of the government is to solve the people's problems but it did not do anything to achieve that goal. Intractable problems still exist such as the deterioration of security, the spread of bullying while MPs have to navigate concrete blocks surrounding the council every day to reach the parliament. Moreover, the gas shortage is still unsolved and every-day fires across Egypt still occur, the latest being the "Arab" factory fire," said Katatni. "The government also failed to rescue the deteriorating economy. These problems are clear proof of the failure of governmental policies and programmes in protecting public security and the economy.  The spread of sit-ins and demonstrations all over the country is more evidence of policy failure, which was objected to by 743 deputies in parliament," he said. Katatni, also a prominent figure of Egypt's Islamist organisation the Muslim Brotherhood, said he believed the limited reshuffle was only meant to appease angry deputies and extend the transitional period without reforming problematic policies. "The reality is that the government does not need tinkering as far as it needs to reform policies and programmes to solve the problems of citizens, and achieve security and stability," he said. He mentioned that there was "no way" for the parliamentary majority to participate in the reshuffle , whether the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) or the Salafist Al-Nur which won 75 percent of seats in parliament.  Katatni said the national reconciliation government must be made up of all political currents. Katatni said the FJP would not be involved in the reshuffle because it "rejected the policies and programmess of this government and suspended its sessions because the government did not attend the parliamentary meetings". Nor does the speaker believe the Brotherhood would help the government as "it demands a coalition government responsible for the transitional phase to lead the country to safety". Finally, Katatni  said Egypt's ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces did not inform him of the limited reshuffle and he only came to know of it from the media.