Egypt's Morsi has hits and misses in first year as president

As the first anniversary of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi's inauguration comes amid fierce division marked by nationwide rallies of both his proponents and opponents, analysts say that he had hits and misses in the past year. Morsi's supporters are to stage huge demonstrations in Rabia al- Adawiya Square of Cairo's Nasr City to support Morsi on Sunday against the anti-president rallies arranged by liberals on the same day in front of the presidential palace and at Cairo's central Tahrir Square. On Wednesday, the embattled president delivered a speech, admitting that he had made some mistakes since he was elected last June. But his words still failed to appease the opposition and was described by observers as only "defensive." "SOME" ACHIEVEMENTS Gamal Abu Shakra, head of the Political and Strategic Center with Ain Shams University, saw that it was normal that the first year of Morsi's rule witnessed problems and failures due to "the transitional period" Egypt is in since the 2011 unrest. "Morsi's administration failed in handling problems such as diesel and electricity, which triggered the anger of the people," Abu Shakra said, adding that the desire of Muslim Brotherhood (MB), from which Morsi hails, to dominate the state's institutions further increased the opposition's outcry. But Abu Shakra also spotted some achievements, "regardless the differences of his group with the opposition." They "include the constitution that was approved through a national referendum, and finishing drafting the parliamentary elections law, and law of exercising the political rights in preparation for the parliamentary elections," he said. "In addition, the security apparatuses achieved better existence in the streets and were better chasing the outlaws ..." "In the economic aspect, launching the project of developing the Suez Canal region is very important as it will attract ... investments" and will save "millions" of job, he said. Despite the persistent security, political and economic crisis, Egypt welcomes one million more tourists compared to the previous year, the expert said. FATAL MISTAKES But, for the part of Tarek al-Sinouti, head of the diplomatic department with the Al-Ahram daily newspaper, the slight achievements were not enough to cover up Morsi's three "fatal" mistakes: the absence of a clear strategic plan, dividing the nation, and marginalizing the opposition. "Absence of a clear plan for development in different aspects led to the people to lose any hope in the future, besides their wrath about the present," said Sinouti. Morsi also divided the people and ignored the opposition regardless of his repeated promises to be a unifying president for all Egyptians, he said, noting that "political consensus" is key in times of transition. Development plans like the Suez Canal region projects could not satisfy the ordinary people, who, in the past year, still face such daily challenges as diesel crisis and irregular traffic. For Sinouti, the president depends on the support of his MB group and other hardline Islamists, noting that the backing has nothing to do with his achievements, but just because of Morsi' affiliation.