A regional banker just returned from Egypt tells me he is impressed by the energy he felt, and is excited about the country’s economic prospects. Outside investment is likely to increase once the post-revolution interim period is concluded, he predicts.
This hopeful mood prevailed in Cairo and Tunis in the days of the revolution, when businessmen who wanted change reassured those who preferred the status quo that democracy, accountability and transparency were good for business. That same outlook would apply to chaotic, impoverished Yemen and dysfunctional Libya once rulers finally relented in the face of popular will, as they surely will.
The optimism may yet prove justified. But the present is gloomy, and talk of economic progress clashes, day by day, with reality. The post-revolutionary period has been testy, with security trouble erupting regularly – weekend violence in Cairo between Christians and Muslims left 12 people dead, and a renewed curfew was imposed in Tunis after days of clashes between protesters and riot police.
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