"Egyptian society is going through a period of political and economic mobility," he said. "Our society is witnessing an unprecedented degree of freedom of expression, and it's normal for societies in a state of transition to experience what's happening in Egypt."
Kamal also noted that the Egyptian is not responsible for the rise in food prices, which is happening across the developing world.
"The government continues to subsidise basic foodstuffs, and at the same time increases salaries, the problem is that the increase in salaries hasn't matched inflation," he said.
Ammar Ali Hassan, director of the Middle East Studies and Research Centre, told the paper: "The atmosphere that prevailed before and during the 1977 bread riots is similar to now, especially in that there is no confidence in the government. The desire to protest has overwhelmed a large sector of society."
Hassan added that while current living conditions in Egypt are "much worse than in 1997, the ordinary Egyptian nowadays is unable to stage wide protests because he has become fragile. Egyptians in 1977 were more politicised than now and the regime's security grip was less strong."
However, Mohamed Kamal, member of the ruling National Democratic Party's Policies Committee, told Al-Ahram that the current riots are not so extraordinary, and will not cause any social upheaval.
References
by Thomas Woodfin
BIO
Democratic Peace Theory
Amway Global
