Family Ties

According to Israel's Haaretz:

Mubarak signals Egypt succession by taking son to Washington

Gamal Mubarak, long presumed heir to the ageing president, will meet Israeli delegates to peace summit - and maybe even Netanyahu himself.

"Gamal Mubarak, son of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, will accompany his father to this week's Washington peace summit in what may be the clearest sign yet that he is being groomed for the succession.

Gamal has long been the center of speculation that he will replace his ageing father - but until now the 82-year-old president has kept his presumed heir at arm's length during high-profile international engagements." -more

And this from the Irish Times:

Campaign under way in Egypt for son to succeed Mubarak

"The effort to ensure that Hosni Mubarak, Egypt’s president for nearly 29 years, is succeeded by his younger son is being conducted by no fewer than three well-organised groups seeking to pre-empt the decision of the ruling party on a candidate for next year’s presidential poll.

Posters showing Gamal Mubarak against the background of the national flag have appeared on the streets of Cairo and other Egyptian cities.

Some posters call the businessman connected to Egypt’s wealthiest citizens the “dream of the poor”, while others bear the Arabic inscription, “No God but God”, with the aim of attracting the devout.

Leaders of the “Yes to Gamal” campaign are also circulating a petition urging the ruling National Democratic Party to choose him as its presidential candidate.

The effort is apparently designed to cultivate popular backing for the younger Mubarak, who has not yet committed himself to run. Recent polls showed his approval rating is low." -more

And the TIMESonline of South Africa adds:

Brotherhood not ready to rule Egypt, says official

Egypt's largest opposition group is not yet ready to take power in the country, a prominent supporter of the banned Muslim Brotherhood said in a newspaper interview ahead of parliamentary elections in October.

"I think it's not time yet for Islamists to be in power," Muntasser al-Zayat, a Muslim Brotherhood activist and lawyer, told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper.

"Of course, the Brotherhood is the most experienced Islamist group to play a role in Egypt's political life, but I think it is a blessing from God that no Islamist faction reached power in Egypt," he added, referring to previous election efforts by the group.

He told the paper that opponents of the Brotherhood were seeking to watch it fail and the Islamists needed to be in a better position before seeking power.

The Brotherhood is technically banned in the country, but has members in parliament who ran as independents. -more