Sisi still cagey on question of presidency

In an interview published in the Kuwaiti Al-Anba’ newspaper on Thursday, commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces Abdel Fatah al-Sisi neither confirms nor denies the possibility of running in the upcoming presidential elections.

When asked directly at the beginning of the interview whether he would run for president, Sisi answered with a number of questions.

“Would this be satisfying to the people? Would it satisfy some outside powers? Would this mean that I would work on Egypt’s problems? Anyone who realizes the extent of Egypt’s problems would turn away from the presidential race,” he said.

Ever since he forcibly removed former President Mohamed Morsi from power in July following mass protests against Morsi’s presidency, popular campaigns have been calling for Sisi to “complete his favor” and run for president.

While Sisi has on several occasions made comments implying that it is unlikely for him to run for president, he has never ruled out the possibility.

When pressed again in the Kuwaiti interview with a second question enumerating his qualifications and asking him whether he would deprive the Egyptian people of all his qualities by turning away from the ruling position, Sisi answered with an elusive, “We will see what the days bring.”

Sisi said that the countries that had supported the Muslim Brotherhood are now coming to the realization that Morsi’s ouster was not a military coupe but a “popular revolution against a rule that the people rejected.”

The removal of Morsi with a military decree was rejected by some countries as an unconstitutional military coup and imposed punitive measures.

When asked about whether Egypt will replace its alliances with the US and the European Union which have had a negative reaction to the removal of Morsi, and rwith a renewed alliance with Russia, Sisi responded saying that it is not wise to change alliances based on a particular situation and that Egypt seeks balanced relations that are based on mutual respect and do not allow intervention in the country's affairs.