Prime Minister Sharaf has made stability in the Egyptian transition government his priority by appointing liberals to fourteen positions in his restructured cabinet prior to protests sponsored by liberal parties to be held in Tahrir Square scheduled for Friday.

Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf appointed fourteen relatively unknown figures to his cabinet last weekend, only to postpone the swearing-in ceremony scheduled on Monday. Although these new appointments overwhelmingly come from the liberal Wafd party, protests continued against the eleven ministers with affiliations to the former Mubarak government who have retained their positions. No Islamists were included in the new cabinet reorganization.

Although the Muslim Brotherhood is expected to gain around 100 seats of the Egyptian parliament and power in several agencies in the upcoming elections, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), has claimed it wants to stay out of the interim government.

The Muslim Brotherhood’s influence may be undermined by internal strife that has prompted younger leaders in the organization to form a new party, the Egyptian Current Party. The Egyptian Current Party is expected to advocate for the protection of individual freedoms and support Islamic morals although it is opposed to enforcing Islamic religious law. Over the weekend this split grew wider as the Muslim Brotherhood began expelling members from their ranks who have become affiliated with other parties.

Analysis:

Prime Minister Sharaf’s appointment of liberal and secular ministers is likely to garner support with the protesters in Tahrir Square, who have been engaged in a sit-in since July 8th. However, it is unlikely to stop protests calling for the removal of the ministers of interior and justice, both of whom remain unpopular due to their close relationship with the Mubarak regime. The new appointments also serve as a further blow to the Islamist movement in Egypt.

The wait-and-see approach of the Muslim Brotherhood, coupled with their purges, has the potential to further split their movement. As more liberal members of the Muslim Brotherhood join alternative parties and are subsequently expelled from the movement, it is likely that the power of the Muslim Brotherhood may be weakened prior to elections in the fall. Although the FJP could likely win more than a quarter of the seats in the Egyptian parliament in September’s elections, Egypt’s future will not be decided by one election. Should the Muslim Brotherhood receive enough representation in parliament or within several critical agencies, it could serve as a roadblock to the liberal parties that have risen in power within the interim government.