Egyptian military bends to Islamist demand of forming new govt

Cairo, Apr 30 (ANI): Egypt's ruling military has said that it would appoint a new cabinet in the next 48 hours, apparently conceding to the Islamist-dominated parliament's demand for a new government.

Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi's pledge came hours after Parliament Speaker Saad Al Katatni, a senior member of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, suspended sessions on Sunday until the military agreed to dissolve the cabinet.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, the decision could bring an end to a long going battle of wills between the popularly elected legislature and the ruling council of generals led by Field Marshal Tantawi, who have defied parliament's demands that it yield executive powers to the country's first post-revolutionary legislature.

The military's climbdown on Sunday comes at a crucial time for the Brotherhood as the powerful Islamist organization stakes out a place for itself in Egypt's nascent government.

According to Muslim Brotherhood, it was the military's reluctance to dismiss its cabinet, or devolve more power to the elected parliament, that pushed them to reverse previous pledges not to field a presidential candidate.

Meanwhile, it would be interesting to see whether the new appointments, by the military and not the Islamist-dominated parliament, will mollify Brotherhood leaders by giving them supervisory roles over key ministries or extend an impasse that has unsettled the country's shaky transition. (ANI)