Cairo - Military police idly guard the gates of Egypt's presidential palace in Heliopolis, built as a 400-room luxury hotel in 1910, and vacant since a popular uprising deposed Hosni Mubarak 15 months ago.
Egyptians, who never stormed in to gawk and plunder their fallen leader's home, vote on May 23 and 24 for a new president, the latest stage of an uncertain transition guided by the military.
People who live in the wealthy Cairo district around the palace are delighted to be spared the road closures that snarled traffic every time Mubarak went anywhere.
But some, such as 24-year-old Sara Hussein, find it harder to perceive any other changes wrought by the uprising she had supported.
"Like everything, the palace is still not free of the Mubaraks. The palace, and the country, are not for the people," she said. "His regime is still in power."
Still, Egypt will soon have a freely elected - and probably civilian - president for the first time in the republic's history, assuming the generals who sealed Mubarak's fate by refusing to shoot at crowds keep their promise to hand over by July 1.
Little else is clear. Attempts to craft a new constitution have stalled. No one knows how power will be divided between the president and parliament, dominated by Islamists.
The military, wary of Islamists and jealous of its own power, perks and privileges, may step back from day-to-day affairs but is likely to seek an as-yet undefined political role.
The generals effectively removed Mubarak to safeguard the system, not to promote revolutionary change. So far reform has not touched that system's main pillars - the military, the judiciary, the police, security and intelligence agencies.
"We have not had regime change in Egypt, only change within the regime, with a lot of street noise outside," said Robert Springborg, a professor at the Naval Post-graduate School in Monterey, California, and a specialist on the Egyptian military.
Mubarak, who turned 84 this month, spends his days at the International Medical Centre, sitting in a lounge, walking in the garden, watching television and seeing relatives, according to a hospital source.
This suggests he is healthier than the image projected at his court appearances, when he showed up lying on a stretcher, wearing dark glasses and taking little part in proceedings.
He and former interior minister Habib al-Adly both deny ordering the killing of protesters. If convicted, they could face the death penalty, but appeals will follow.
The judge has promised a verdict on June 2, a date that falls between the first presidential election round and a likely run-off between the two top vote-getters on June 16 and 17.
Mubarak's two sons, Gamal and Alaa, are also on trial with him on corruption charges.
Across the busy Heliopolis avenue, the blue, green and orange posters and banners of candidates vying to become its next occupant festoon the trees. - Reuters
Mubarak legacy lives on
Cairo - Military police idly guard the gates of Egypt's presidential palace in Heliopolis, built as a 400-room luxury hotel in 1910, and vacant since a popular uprising deposed Hosni Mubarak 15 months ago.
Egyptians, who never stormed in to gawk and plunder their fallen leader's home, vote on May 23 and 24 for a new president, the latest stage of an uncertain transition guided by the military.
People who live in the wealthy Cairo district around the palace are delighted to be spared the road closures that snarled traffic every time Mubarak went anywhere.
But some, such as 24-year-old Sara Hussein, find it harder to perceive any other changes wrought by the uprising she had supported.
"Like everything, the palace is still not free of the Mubaraks. The palace, and the country, are not for the people," she said. "His regime is still in power."
Still, Egypt will soon have a freely elected - and probably civilian - president for the first time in the republic's history, assuming the generals who sealed Mubarak's fate by refusing to shoot at crowds keep their promise to hand over by July 1.
Little else is clear. Attempts to craft a new constitution have stalled. No one knows how power will be divided between the president and parliament, dominated by Islamists.
The military, wary of Islamists and jealous of its own power, perks and privileges, may step back from day-to-day affairs but is likely to seek an as-yet undefined political role.
The generals effectively removed Mubarak to safeguard the system, not to promote revolutionary change. So far reform has not touched that system's main pillars - the military, the judiciary, the police, security and intelligence agencies.
"We have not had regime change in Egypt, only change within the regime, with a lot of street noise outside," said Robert Springborg, a professor at the Naval Post-graduate School in Monterey, California, and a specialist on the Egyptian military.
Mubarak, who turned 84 this month, spends his days at the International Medical Centre, sitting in a lounge, walking in the garden, watching television and seeing relatives, according to a hospital source.
This suggests he is healthier than the image projected at his court appearances, when he showed up lying on a stretcher, wearing dark glasses and taking little part in proceedings.
He and former interior minister Habib al-Adly both deny ordering the killing of protesters. If convicted, they could face the death penalty, but appeals will follow.
The judge has promised a verdict on June 2, a date that falls between the first presidential election round and a likely run-off between the two top vote-getters on June 16 and 17.
Mubarak's two sons, Gamal and Alaa, are also on trial with him on corruption charges.
Across the busy Heliopolis avenue, the blue, green and orange posters and banners of candidates vying to become its next occupant festoon the trees. - Reuters
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending
Latest Videos