Egyptian Protesters Storm Presidential Palace

Arab Spring 2.0?

Just last month, Egypt's president, the Muslim Brother Mohammed Morsi, was seen as the big winner in the conflagration between Hamas and Israel, negotiating a ceasefire between the two. Just a day later, on November 22nd, Morsi made a grab for power, proclaiming that the courts could not overturn any of his decisions until a new constitution was drafted.  The proverbial shit hit the fan almost immediately, with protesters setting fire to the offices of the Muslim Brotherhood. Protesters eventually began to clash with police in Cairo. A draft constitution was finally approved at the end of the month, but protests continued unabated against what's seen as a heavily flawed constitution. Morsi announced a snap referendum on the draft constitution, set for December 15,  but protests continued.

Today, protesters stormed the presidential compound, forcing Morsi to flee in a scene reminiscent of the last days of the former Egyptian autocrat Hosni Mubarak in early 2011. Long-time Egyptian opposition leader Mohammed ElBaradei, meanwhile, characterized Morsi's power grab as pharaoh-like, tweeting  that it was a "major blow to the revolution" that could have "dire consequences." Given that the Egyptian people's discontent over Hosni Mubarak and the state of affairs in Egypt far predated the 2011 revolution that actually swept Mubarak out of power, perhaps the current round of protests in Egypt are better seen as a continuation of last year's revolution. Morsi's election, after all, did little to address the core complaints of Egypt's protesters: a massive police state propping up a vast and corrupt bureaucracy. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss…