Anew poll this week of the opinion Egyptians now have of their hard-won democracy ought to make all the country's politicians sit up and take notice. In essence popular support not simply for the government of President Mohamed Morsi but also for the opposition National Salvation Front has, with one exception, fallen significantly with only 28 percent of respondents trusting the government and 34 percent having confidence in the opposition. Perhaps more significantly, almost 39 percent of those asked said that they had no belief in the effectiveness of any of the main political parties. This sharp decline in support for the political process delivers a strong message to the entire Egyptian political establishment. The question is whether or not they will understand it. There is no doubting the legitimacy of President Morsi's presidential victory. That the courts ruled that the parliamentary elections were invalid was not his fault. However, without a chamber where the executive's policies can be debated and challenged, the complexion of Egyptian political life has been pale and insipid. The arguments have moved back to the streets, where definitely they do not belong. The streets were the battleground that saw the defeat of the Mubarak-led military regime. They should never have become the arena for dispute in the new Egyptian democracy. The single exception to the general dissatisfaction with the government is, unsurprisingly, among supporters of Islamic parties which back Morsi's moderate Islamic rule. Yet though the poll did not show it, even they must be feeling ever-greater unease at the government's performance. Some will be wanting the president to implement more in the way of Shariah principles, but there will be others who simply feel growing disappointment at the failure of the administration to bring economic order to the country. The core problem is the way in which Egyptian society has become polarized since the overthrow of Mubarak. The heartening unity that the population showed in Egypt's Arab Spring fell away with alarming speed. In the year since Morsi won office, nothing has been done to stop this ebbing away of the vision of freedom and democracy which once brought all Egyptians together. This loss of common purpose is very far from being exclusively the fault of Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood. Opposition leaders have played a discreditable role in undermining the principles of a pluralist society, first by attacking the new constitution for its religious values, and then by insisting that the Brotherhood was intent on keeping and expanding its political power by crushing opposition. Morsi's error has been his inability to put flesh on the bones of his promise that he intended to govern for all Egyptians, not simply his own supporters. The challenge has been made the greater by the refusal of National Salvation Front leaders to enter into any meaningful dialogue. Nevertheless, the president could have done a better job, if not in talking to the opposition leaders, then in reaching beyond them to their supporters, with a convincing vision of a pluralist, free and democratic Egypt. This he has failed to do. Into the resulting political vacuum, disinformation, rumor and fear have moved as manifested in the disturbing findings of this opinion poll. Morsi and opposition leaders need to recognize how the political ground is falling away beneath their feet. Parliamentary elections should be held as soon as possible to allow the arguments that so divide Egyptian society to move from the streets to the debating chamber.
