Egypt: PM in struggle to form government

Egypt's newly installed prime minister Hazem al-Beblawi was today trying to form a cabinet a week after the army ousted president Mohamed Morsi.

Amid growing unrest, Mr Beblawi, 76, a prominent liberal and economist, admitted he could not please everyone, adding: “There is always a time of choice.”

He is expected to offer posts to Mr Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood but it has refused to co-operate with what it says is a coup.

Posts could also be offered to the hardline Islamist Nour Party. But a coalition of liberal groups, the National Salvation Front, said it was not consulted.

Interim president Adly Mansour, a leading judge, announced a timetable for new elections hours after at least 51 people — mostly Muslim Brotherhood members — were killed in Cairo. Mr Mansour said a referendum on Islamist changes to the constitution made by Mr Morsi would be held in months which would pave the way for parliamentary elections.

The move was “cautiously” welcomed by the US.

Mr Morsi, who became Egypt’s first democratically elected leader in June last year, was removed from office last Wednesday after days of protests. He was accused of becoming authoritarian, pursuing an Islamist agenda, and failing to tackle Egypt’s economic problems.

Mr Beblawi told Reuters he accepted that it would be difficult to win the unanimous support of Egyptians for his government.

He added: “Of course we respect the public opinion and we try to comply with the expectation of the people, but there is always a time of choice, there is more than one alternative, you cannot satisfy all of the people.”

Mohamed Kamal, an official in the Muslim Brotherhood’s political wing, told the BBC: “We will never take part in any cabinet as long as Morsi is not back as a president.” The Brotherhood is continuing a sit-in at the Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque where bodies of the Cairo massacre are being kept.