Brotherhood: Egyptian army plans cabinet reshuffle

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood said on Sunday the ruling generals planned to reshuffle the government in an apparent attempt to defuse a political feud overshadowing a presidential election campaign that gets under way on Monday. Essam el-Erian, a senior Brotherhood lawmaker, told Reuters the generals would initiate talks over the reshuffle but army officials did not immediately confirm any plans to do so. Reports that the head of the ruling military council, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, would revamp the government were also splashed across the Brotherhood's website late on Sunday. State-run news website Al-Ahram reported separately that Tantawi would bring Islamists and other parliamentary political forces into the government, quoting government sources. Prime Minister Kamal al-Ganzouri, an army appointee, has struggled to build momentum for reforms and mend an economy since the overthrow last year of President Hosni Mubarak. On Sunday parliament decided to suspend its work for a week, saying the military had ignored demands for a cabinet which the Brotherhood says should reflect the make-up of parliament. The Brotherhood has said the military's refusal to give it a share of executive power was a major factor in its late decision to enter the race for the presidency. Voters go to the polls on May 23-24, with a run-off expected in June. But its candidate, Mohamed Mursi, suffered a blow on Saturday when an influential Salafi movement endorsed his main Islamist rival for president. The Nour Party of the Salafi movement on Saturday endorsed Abdel Moneim Abol Fotouh, a former Brotherhood member ejected from the mainstream Islamic movement last year, for the presidency. That should bring to Abol Fotouh many of the votes that propelled the Salafis into second place behind the Brotherhood in Egypt's parliamentary elections.